Slayers: Perchance to Dream
by Eveshka
Summary: The sequel to Slayers: True. Lina fears that her affiliation with Nightmare magics will get in the way of her happiness, and convinces herself that the only reason Zelgadis loves her is that spell of Rezo's. So she vanishes for three years. When she retur
1. Chapter One

Perchance to Dream

Chapter One

_ _

_"You'll wear this for the ball, right Miss Lina?"_

_"…I suppose, Amelia."_

_"Miss Lina, are you okay? You've seemed… distant…"_

_"I'm fine, Amelia. Really. Now let me get ready…"_

Lina would have said anything to get the bouncy girl out of the rooms she had been given in the Royal Palace of Saillune. Fortunately, it hadn't taken much.

But Lina didn't wear the dress.

She didn't go to the ball.

She'd been too upset that Gourry was going to marry Sylphiel. Oh, she saw it coming, and there was no way that she'd ever have wanted a relationship with the blonde. But he'd told her that after he got married, he wouldn't be able to roam the world. He'd promised Sylphiel that he'd help her rebuild Sairaag.

She'd picked up the dress, and knew that she wouldn't be able to go.

Instead, she had opened the window, and taken off into the night, the dress still in her hands. Nevermind that she hadn't answered Zelgadis. He'd find her…

She sank into the chair in the tavern and shook her head. Three years had gone by. Three years, and not a single word from any of them! She hadn't gone out of her way to be hard to find, either. Nothing from Xellos, nothing from Amelia, nothing from Gourry… nothing from Zelgadis. But today, she'd gotten word. Today, of all days. Her first day back in Saillune.

It had been a strangely peaceful three years, she reflected. She'd had to close herself off, try to forget that question that Zelgadis had asked her so long ago in that little clearing in the trees. But it was good to see Amelia so grown and lovely. She wasn't nearly as awkward as she had been back then. For some strange reason, now that Amelia's hair was longer, Lina was reminded of Naga. She shook her head slowly and ordered a drink.

Normally, Lina stayed away from alcoholic beverages. She'd been spoiled in Zefilia, growing up with wine that bards sang odes to, and anything else tasted like vinegar to her. But today, after the news that she had gotten… even vinegar was less bitter. She drank the whole thing straight, knocking it back and setting the glass back on the bar with a thump.

She'd been so damn sure that Zelgadis and Amelia were meant for each other, no matter what those two had thought. That's why she hadn't answered him. She'd been so damn sure. She scowled at the empty glass, but put her hand over it when the bartender tried to refill it. No sense in getting drunk. She felt bad enough already.

_That idiot and his cure._

She dropped a few coins on the bar and stalked back to her room. When she got to the door, there was a note tacked to it, and she pulled it off, closing the door behind her as she scanned the note.

_Come see me? –Amelia._

Lina sighed and shook her head. She should have known better than to register with her name at the hotel. It was either that, or Amelia had seen her earlier.

_No sense in putting it off… I guess I'd better go see her._

With that, she turned around and left her hotel room, pocketing the note, and headed for the Palace. 

"Lina Inverse, Sorceress of Justice, Destroyer of Dragons, and Bandit's Bane."

Lina cringed as they announced her at the great doors of the Royal Hall. She had hoped that the stupid title Phil had given her had been forgotten. 

The doors had been opened for her, and she stepped into the Hall quietly, only to walk smack into someone. Clearing the distractions out of her mind, she looked to see whom it was that she'd run into, and her apology drifted away as she registered Amelia.

"Amelia… I…"

A hand flashed out, Lina's voice dying in shock as the impact of the slap stung sharply. Crimson eyes blinked, fiery lashes meeting and parting. She stepped backwards as her hand went reflexively to the offended cheek. "I… I suppose I deserved that…"

"How dare you! How dare you come back here?" Amelia hissed, anger building in her eyes. "Three years… you broke his heart!"

"I didn't know, Amelia! How could I have known? It's not as if you sent out couriers to find me! Hell, I expected to come back and find the two of you married by now!" Lina retorted, shaken by Amelia's anger.

"He was in love with you, not me! _You were supposed to be at the ball with him. But you ran away from us, rather than stay!" Amelia turned, stalking towards the far end of the Hall. "Now, come see what you have lost." The latter was not a kind invitation, but a command that Lina felt impelled to comply with, even though she knew all too well what Amelia was about to show her. _

The door that Amelia opened was set behind a curtain, Lina would not have known it was there. Lina paused at the threshold, but Amelia gave her an unceremonious shove through the door.

The room was lit by candles, a suffocating weight heavy with molten wax in the air. The closer she was to the archway on the other side of the room, the slower she moved. "I don't want to go in there."

"I'm not giving you a choice, Lina Inverse," Amelia said quietly.

Lina sighed and stepped into the other room.

It was completely Amelia to have moved her things into the old room in the Royal Palace, Lina reflected. After Lina had come out of the small room, Amelia was as friendly and as sweet as before. But Lina had been badly shaken, and a guard had walked Lina to the room.

She'd picked at the meal that the servant had brought, for once unable to eat.

What if she had gone to the ball?

She shook her head, finding herself fingering the skirt of the dress that she had carried, yet still not worn. Maybe she would finally put it on, and go to say her farewells. She hadn't been able to say them earlier…

The green velvet swished around her ankles as she tiptoed through the Hall, late in the night. She'd been unable to sleep, thoughts of what-if running through her head. Eventually, she'd decided that the only way to set it aside was to go face it and say her farewells. Satin slipped against stone, her footfalls stopping at the curtain. She paused, uncertain, then gave the door behind an experimental push. It opened soundlessly, and she stepped through it, allowing the curtain to fall closed behind her.

The candles were still lit, the heavy scent of melted wax clinging to her as she walked towards the tiny little room beyond. At the archway, she drew her breath, held it for a moment, then tiptoed in.

He was still lying there, the shadow of Death cast over him. If she didn't know better, she'd think that he was only asleep, and that if she only breathed his name, that those ebony lashes would part and reveal his aquamarine eyes.

The story she had heard, how the Mazoku Xellos had goaded Zelgadis into a fight only a few days ago. Xellos claimed to have known where Lina was, but would not tell Zelgadis, instead replying with his ever-annoying phrase. A fight had broken out, chimera against Mazoku, neither winning. Zelgadis had beaten the Mazoku, but it had taken all of his strength.

Two days later, Zelgadis had died.

The day after that, Lina had arrived in Saillune.

Her eyes filled with unbidden tears, and she bent over, kissing his cold cheek, tears falling lightly onto his face, dampening the stone of his skin. She couldn't stay here. If she did, she'd only spend the night crying at his side. She couldn't understand it, couldn't put her finger on why she was crying. Maybe she really had loved him… and run away from it again, just as her sister had warned.

She'd stay for the funeral… then turn herself loose in the world again. Run free once more and try to forget it all. After all… she was a Nightmare creature, a thing wild of Chaos, the human equivalent of a Mazoku. She couldn't have any other life. No matter what.

She closed the door behind her, escaping the room and leaning against the fallen curtain. Oh, what if she had gone to the ball? A whisper of a wish, and she closed her eyes to see the room filled with people in her mind.

She looked around the room, saw him standing there. Right there by the door, a silent figure in black. Moving through the dancers, she crossed the room and stood face-to-face with him.

No words were exchanged, but hands met, and they began to dance with the waltz. She danced lightly, as she had not danced since her childhood. Eyes met, a shy smile on his lips, and he tilted his head. "I thought you wouldn't come."

"I…" She paused, then shook her head_. Let the dream play out, Lina. Just once…take this chance to dream. She looked up to him. "I almost didn't."_

The pressure of his hand at her back intensified slightly, and he turned her in his arms. "Why not?"

Lina sighed. "I'm not really… suited to this type of life, Zel… I…I'm a Nightmare creature. I don't know what to do…"

He pulled her close as the waltz came to an end and looked at her intently. "You're doing just fine, Lina. Now tell me… what is your answer…?"

She blushed at both the compliment and the proximity of his face to hers, pausing to try to think of a way out of that sudden question that she'd been avoiding. Something in his eyes caught her, and a thought flashed across her mind. _Oh no… no… this is a dream! He couldn't possibly have truly been in love with me! It was that spell! I'm just dreaming… He leaned in closer, and the voice in her mind started to scream. __Wake up, Lina! You're dreaming in the Royal Hall of Saillune just outside of where he lays in state! Wake up!!!_

She blinked.

The hall was dark, as empty as she remembered it. She was alone with the fading fragments of a dream that might have been, but that she would never know what could have happened. She'd run from the possibility.

Gathering the folds of her skirt in one hand, she swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the other. _I'm a fool. I should just go on to bed now and cry myself out. I'm sick of this being strong crud when all it gains me is more painful reasons to be strong. Luna was right. And now I've ruined my chance to dream on my own._

She stepped away from the door, walking quietly away from her dream and back to the cold reality of her room.

Cold.

It was cold.

Hard to breathe.

Odd, that he was cold. He'd never noticed how sharply it bit.

He felt strange, as if he'd been asleep for a very long time.

He lifted fingers. His face was wet. Why?

He heard a door close nearby and rolled to his feet, looking around.

_Candles…?_

Morning came, and the sudden opening of the door awaked Lina from her miserable sleep rather abruptly. Amelia stalked in, glaring at Lina. "I can't believe you! What have you done with him?"

"Him who?" Lina grumbled, pushing hair out of her face and wishing that she'd slept better. But that was her own problem, and she locked it firmly away behind the façade she'd spent the past three years building.

"You know who! I take you to him last night, and now he's gone!"

Lina looked at Amelia disbelievingly. "Amelia, corpses don't just get up and walk off." She thought for a moment, then sat up and reached out for her clothes.

"Don't talk about him like that!" Amelia snapped.

Lina sighed and shook her head as she began to dress. "Amelia, he's dead. That means he's a corpse. And I can't cast resurrection…" Her head lifted, gaze snapping over to Amelia. "Hey, why didn't you cast it? You can. You're one of the few with high enough white magic training."

Amelia turned a violent red, and spun away from Lina. The redheaded sorceress frowned for a moment, then lifted her eyebrows and made a silent "oh" with her mouth. _That time of the month… After a moment of watching Amelia's back as she fastened her blouse, Lina ventured a comment. "Don't take it too hard, Amelia. It's not your fault. It's just bad… timing. But it still doesn't explain why he's gone."_

The princess sighed softly. "You're right. I'm sorry that I thought you had done something…"

Lina stood, shook the wrinkles out of her cloak, and looked to Amelia. "Well, let's see if we can find out what's going on. Someone must have seen something…" she stepped out of the room, fastening her cloak about her.

Half the day had passed while Lina had asked around the city, Gourry and Sylphiel arriving in the late morning and helping after bring brought up to date by Amelia. Sylphiel had immediately staunched her tears and offered to cast resurrection if it wasn't too late. When Lina had returned, Sylphiel had immediately attached herself to the sorceress and dragged her right back out.

So Lina was standing in an alley in the middle of town, praying that she'd finally lost Sylphiel in the crowds. It wasn't that she disliked the girl… but right now she didn't want company. It was hard enough that she could tell that Sylphiel wanted to ask why she had run away, but respected Lina too much to ask. But she heard a noise behind her, and knew that she'd been found. Spinning around with an apology for vanishing on her lips, she froze when it wasn't Sylphiel.

"Oh… sorry…" she mumbled, then turned to leave when a hand grasped her cloak. Caught, she spun around, a fireball forming in one hand, snapping hotly. "Look, I said I was sorry! Now let go of me or…" The fireball fell away, dying, and her mouth fell open in shock. "It can't be… no way… you're dead…"

Violet eyes opened for a brief moment. "I'm afraid that's quite impossible, Lina. Given my nature and all…"

"Damnit, Xellos!" Lina leapt, landing on the Mazoku and pummeling him into the ground. "You're supposed to be dead! So die already, or I'll make your pathetic excuse for a life miserable for killing Zelgadis!"

"Ouch, Lina… but he's not dead," Xellos managed to get out before she stuck her boot in his face again.

"WHAT?" She picked her foot up from his face, and grabbed him by the neck, shaking him. "What are you talking about? If he's not dead, then WHERE IS HE???"

Xellos was a masochist. It was the only reason that he replied the way he did. Even when Lina Inverse was shaking him hard enough that his teeth rattled.

"That, is a secret."

Lina cast a dill brand on him and took off for the Palace.


	2. Chapter Two

Perchance to Dream

# Chapter Two

He wasn't dead. At least, not according to the surprisingly still-alive Xellos that Lina had left crumpled in the alleyway on the outskirts of town. In retrospect, she probably ought to have dragged the sorry son of a… well, she didn't bring him with her, and that was that.

Lina had told Amelia… but the Princess of Saillune had only replied that she would believe the words of the Trickster Priest when she saw it. Lina had nodded and withdrawn from the Royal Hall. _Amelia's so cold now… what could possibly have happened in only three years? She thought glumly to herself as she trudged across the yards, through the gates, and across town into a little tavern that was off the beaten path. She hadn't wanted a big and bustling bar, and the closed confines of this dusty and half-lit tavern suited her mood just fine. It smelled of old wood, dust and wine._

She walked up and sat at the bar, mumbling an order as she rested her head in her hand. She'd come in for information, but after a moment, a good stiff drink hadn't sounded too bad either.

"You're Lina Inverse, aren't you?" A soft voice asked her as a glass was placed next to her elbow.

"Yeah, what of it?" She snapped as she looked up to see a pair of quietly deep brown eyes. Ever mindful that it wasn't wise to snap at the bartender, she admonished herself. "Sorry about that… It's one of those days…"

"I see. And what is it that brings you to NightWisp's Tavern? People only come here when troubled… so it is trouble that you must seek to leave behind…" His voice was gentle, just the right tone and timbre. He sounded more than politely concerned, but it was clear that if she pushed him off, he wouldn't press her.

Lina swiped the drink and tipped it back. Setting the empty glass on the bar, she winced, as it was only water. "What, did I find the only non-alcoholic tavern in the entire city of Saillune?" she grumbled to herself. Looking back up, she shook her head. "Not really. I'm here to find information. A friend of mine has gone missing and maybe someone in here has seen him. This is the kind of place he prefers." _But I don't know if that's true anymore… _

"Only people in here lately have been my regulars. Though there was a rather silent guy in black that came through this morning. Reason I recall him is that he seemed a little disoriented," the bartender replied, wiping down the surface of the bar by her glass. "You want more?" he indicated the glass.

"No… what did this guy look like? Blue stone skin? Silvery wire hair?" Lina asked, interested, crimson eyes focusing on the bartender for a moment.

The bartender shook his head, pushing the rag aside and wiping damp hands on his apron. "Nope. He was kind of pale, like he hadn't seen the sun for a while. Nice blue eyes, though."

"Damn," Lina whispered under her breath, shoulders slumping.

"Sorry I couldn't help you. But I'll keep my eyes open for you. I tend to gather information." He started to move away from her, to fill another customer's drink.

She glared at the empty glass for a moment, then slid off the barstool and looked over. "Hey, what do I owe you?"

The bartender looked over as he filled another patron's glass. "For the water? Nothing. For the conversation, you owe me the knowledge when you find your friend. If I'm not in here, leave a message for Arendil."

Lina offered a faint smile to him and nodded. "Alright, I'll do that."

Out on the streets again, she glimpsed a figure in black watching her, and she took off after it when it turned and fled. A brilliant chase through the city ensued, which took to the rooftops after she'd made it clear that she wasn't going to lose him in the city streets_. Man! Whoever this guy is, he's gotta know something! Lina thought as she leapt up, calling forth the powers of levitation to her aid._

Flipping around and over his head, she landed facing him on the roof of a small building and put out her hand. "Stop it right there!" She looked at him, one hand on her hip and tipped her head slightly up. "I'll grant that you're pretty smart to run from me, but you can't keep running from me forever. So just tell me who you are, and then…" Her pose faltered, brilliant blue eyes looking at her from under the gold-rimmed hood. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned forward, voice edged with shock. "Zelgadis?"

His eyes widened slightly, and he stepped backwards. "No… You have me confused… with someone else…" 

_His voice, so very much like Zel's… She moved forwards, grabbing at his cloak. "It is you! You're alive!" Something filled her, threatened to overflow and for a moment, she couldn't catch her breath._

But then he frowned, shaking his head. "You have me mistaken."

She frowned in return, emotions swirling. He looked like him… his eyes under the shadow of the hood were the same. And his voice! It had to be him! Had to be! "It's me… Lina… you know… the redheaded sorceress who forever screws up anything personal… Just like I did three years ago." That last comment was accompanied by a blush, whether she'd intended it or not.

"Release me."

Shocked out of her embarrassment, she looked up at him and saw the coldness in his eyes. "But… Zel…?"

A spell formed in his left hand, right hand reaching across to a sword she had not yet seen at his hip.

She let go of his cloak, stunned that he'd threaten to use a spell on her, hand opening in a quick reflexive motion as she took a step backwards in her own defense. She didn't look all that different, did she? Her hair was longer maybe, a few silvery strands a new testimony to her Nightmare affiliation… but she hadn't changed… _He hates me. He hates me for breaking his heart… "I'm… sorry…" she stammered, then called her levitation spell again, and took off into the clouds, fighting tears that clouded her vision. _

She wasn't watching where she was going, and eventually ended up in the outskirts of the city, landing in a small alleyway, trying desperately not to cry. Honestly, she'd hurt less when Gaav had blasted her all those years ago. It felt like something was crushing her, and the harder she fought it, the harder it crushed.

"Lina!" Sylphiel's voice. The word that came to Lina's mind wasn't polite, nor was it worth repeating. But Lina repeated it none-the-less. She hadn't wanted to be caught like this. Particularly by Sylphiel. She closed her eyes, only to open them again as Sylphiel put her hand on Lina's shoulder. "Lina… what happened? Did you find him?"

"I don't know who he was… he looked like Zel… sounded like Zel… but he told me that I was mistaken…" Lina forced herself calmer. It was harder than she'd thought it would be.

"Lina, are you hurt? I saw you on the rooftops chasing someone… did he hurt you?" Sylphiel asked, looking to her with concern in her eyes.

Lina sighed, looking away. "It's nothing. Nothing you can help with, Sylphiel. Let's go back to the Palace. Maybe Gourry's had some luck."

Sylphiel nodded, understanding. "We'll walk. It will give you time to collect yourself."

Lina flashed her a grateful look. "Thanks, Sylphiel."

The girls walked back to the Palace in silence, Lina struggling with that mysterious person, Sylphiel worried about her friend who had come back after so long.

Gourry'd had absolutely no luck, and the news sent Lina spiraling down into the depths of depression. She'd drifted out of the Royal Hall like a ghost, the light fading from her eyes.

They'd watched her go, but Amelia's hand had stayed them from following. Sylphiel didn't notice, but Gourry saw the glint in the blue eyes of the Princess and silently wondered what Amelia was up to. He wasn't dumb, and he knew what had happened after Lina hadn't shown up at the ball. And he knew that Amelia blamed it all entirely on Lina.

Lina hadn't been paying attention to where she was walking, just drifting along, lost in memories. She'd passed through the courtyard and on into the royal graveyard. Looking at the gravestones, she passed them one by one until a newer one caught her attention. Only half reading it, she froze as the name etched itself in her mind: Gracia ul Naga Saillune. _Naga!? Memories of her irritating once-companion came flashing up, and suddenly, Lina saw the resemblance to Amelia. She'd missed it before. Frozen to the very core of her soul, she realized that not only was Naga dead, but she had been Amelia's missing older sister._

"Oh L-Sama…" Lina breathed. She couldn't deal with it, couldn't bring her mind around any of it anymore. It was just too damn much. Amelia hated her. Zelgadis hated her… Naga was dead… lifting into the air, Lina took off for that little tavern again. And this time, she wanted something other than water.

Arendil was a good bartender. And like any good bartender, when a person who needs what a bartender can offer enters the tavern, he was right behind the counter. It wasn't surprising that she was back. He knew a lot of things, and he'd known she'd return. And being a bartender, he was very good at knowing what drinks would be needed. So it was no trouble to produce a glass with Zefilian wine when she walked up and sat quietly in the seat.

She picked it up silently, taking a sip and closing her eyes. The anxious pain etched across her face eased only slightly, and she set the glass down, crimson eyes opening to look at him. She studied him silently in return for a moment, then looked away.

He could tell that he was going to have to work harder on her. She wasn't the type to give herself over easily. Getting much out of her would take a fight. "Rough day," he said, not needing to ask it. He knew by the look in her eyes.

"Yeah…"

"You'd better not waste that," he said, pointing to the glass of wine. "That was a six year old bottle."

Her gaze flickered to the wine. Silently, she reached out and picked it up again, sipping at it.

She was tougher than most of his visitors. Just about as tough as that guy in black over in the corner was. And she wasn't likely to open her mouth and start talking. He knew the type all too well.

"You say that you gather information. What do you know of the Princess' older sister?" The girl asked in a deathly quiet voice before taking another mouthful of wine.

"Oh… Gracia. Not a lot is known… she vanished shortly after the incident, and hasn't been seen since," Arendil replied, absently filling another customer's glass.

"There's a tombstone in the Royal Cemetery."

He looked to her, noting the strange tone in her voice, the tightness of her closed eyes. "Is there? Now that's a bit of information that I hadn't known." Arendil shook his head and turned to the shelf of bottles behind the bar. Some of his stock was a little low, and he wanted to- a crash gave him cause to turn around.

A purple-haired priest was standing there by the stool that the redhead had occupied with a perplexed look on his face, looking down. He noticed Arendil's expression, and scratched the back of his head. "Oh my, it looks like Lina's had too much to drink!" A hastily offered coin was left on the counter and the priest reached down and picked up the limp woman. "Don't mind me, I'll see that she's taken care of…"

Arendil was vaguely aware that this was no ordinary priest, but he couldn't put his finger on the strangeness of it. Instead, he nodded, picked up the coin and pocketed it as the priest left the tavern, carrying the redhead.

He noticed the man in black followed silently, as if he knew the priest. All the news would come to him. He didn't need to worry himself. He'd know it all in due time. But as for the identity of that priest… now that was worth considering…

He wasn't anyone important to the city of Saillune. But he was important in his own right, more than a simple bartender. He was a Free Agent of the Cephied Knight… and hastily went to the back room to bring the latest events to her attention.

The Knight was displeased to identify the priest as the Mazoku General-Priest Xellos. She was even more annoyed that once again, the Mazoku had taken it upon himself to interfere with her sister's life. For the Knight of Cephied was none other than Luna Inverse. And she knew a few secrets. Such as the little-known fact that Xellos was not a pure Mazoku. No, Xellos had just enough human remaining in him so that Zelas could contain him and remind him of what it truly meant to feel pain when necessary.

Arendil was told to keep his ears open, but not to take any direct action on his own… yet. Time alone would tell what was needed of her Free Agent. In the meantime, she had three tables to take care of, and since the busboy hadn't come in today, she'd need to do that too. She'd catch up later.

It never failed to amuse Arendil that some of the most powerful people on the world were waitresses and bartenders. And he meant that in more than just the power granted by Cephied. Waitresses and bartenders were a class all to themselves.

Xellos grinned to himself as he prepared to turn into an alley and spirit Lina away. It had been entirely too easy. She'd let her guard down, and while alone, she had no-one to protect her. A shadow within the shadows moved, a brilliant pair of blue eyes opening to pierce the Mazoku's closed-eye gaze.

"You will let her go. I wish no quarrel with you.'

Xellos considered for a moment. "My my… this could get interesting. Very well. You get to explain it to her." With that, the Trickster Priest faded from sight, Lina's unconscious form falling, forcing the other to move quickly lest she hit the ground unprotected.

Eyes the color of the clearest aquamarines regarded the slender redhead. He'd take her to the Palace. Leave her at the gate. It was best. For everyone.

So why did it make him so sad?


	3. Chapter Three

Perchance to Dream

## Chapter Three

The doors of the Royal Hall unceremoniously burst open, startling the little group at the far end of the room. Amelia looked up, eyes narrowing, ready to snap at the rude intrusion, but her eyes widened when she saw the guard rushing up with a frighteningly limp Lina in his arms. He came to a halt, kneeling and out of breath at the foot of the dais where Amelia sat discussing the situation with Sylphiel and Gourry.

Sylphiel, without taking a moment to think, ran down the steps to the guard, the recovery spell building in her hands. She cast it effortlessly, but it didn't bring Lina around. Frowning, Sylphiel cast the counter-sleeping spell. It too, had no effect.

Amelia moved towards the group, frowned, and placed her hands lightly but firmly on Lina's shoulders, calling forth her own magic. "Oh, power of light and earth and wind, Break now this evil spell. FLOW BREAK!"

Lina didn't even so much as twitch.

Amelia looked to the guard, eyes flashing. "Where did you find her?"

"Your Highness, she was brought to the gates of the Palace by a man draped in a black cloak," the guard replied uneasily. "We could not see his face."

Sylphiel looked up abruptly. "Was there gold trim on the hood of his cloak?"

The guard nodded slowly. "Aye. Do you know him, Lady Sylphiel?"

She shook her head. "No… but I had seen Lina chasing him earlier. She told me that he'd looked… familiar." The shrine maiden sighed, and brushed at a strand of silver in Lina's hair, wondering what had happened to her friend.

Gourry stood at the top of the dais, looking down at the girls and the guard, a memory of more than three years past washing over him. A time when he would have been there, in the place of the guard…

### When Zelgadis and I would have been the ones who brought Lina back. From anything…

The little clearing in the trees was empty, the question echoed only by the trees. Lina and Zelgadis had left separately, quietly, no answer given or received. There was a sort of comfort to both that no answers had been given. He was shocked that he'd managed to ask, and she was shocked that he _had asked._

Alone in the hotel room, Lina packed up her belongings and mulled over the question. It was still too early to be able to think of giving him an answer. She knew him too well now… far too well for a casual reply, and he knew it. She needed to think about it, think carefully and detachedly. Think with her head, not her heart. _Easier said than done, Lina…_

Amelia bounced into the room, instantly setting Lina's teeth on edge as she effervesced. "Oh, Miss Lina, how wonderful! I'm sure that you both will be so happy!!"

Lina looked over at Amelia, pausing before she grabbed her cloak and put it around herself. "Look, can't you keep it down for a bit? I mean, come on Amelia… think about it. This is Zelgadis we're talking about. He's been under a lot of stress lately, and there's no telling how that spell warped him around. Just give it a little while."

Amelia blinked at Lina, big blue eyes wide with surprise. "But aren't you happy? Miss Lina… what's wrong?" The girl ran over to her friend and looked to her with wide eyes, worried that Lina wasn't feeling well.

Lina shook her head again. "I'd be a lot happier if it hadn't been for that spell of Rezo's. I just can't see Zelgadis suddenly deciding that he's in love with anyone… let alone me. Not this suddenly. I just don't buy it. So I'm not going to push the subject."

Amelia frowned, putting a hand on Lina's arm. "But what if he really does love you, Miss Lina? It's possible that the spell gave him the opportunity to tell you…"

Lina sighed and looked to the girl. "What if it had been someone else who had been able to help him? I can't help but have the nagging feeling that the spell was designed to get Zelgadis to fall in love with someone as well as everything else it did. Don't forget, Amelia… I know him a lot better than I feel that I ought to. I share some of his memories now. I mean, I know what it felt like when Rezo turned him into a chimera." She didn't reveal to the princess how terribly suffocating that experience had been. It had helped Lina understand some of the obsession that Zelgadis had with his cure.

Amelia sighed, lowered her hand, and opened her mouth to say something else, but a knock at the door stopped her from anything else.

"Hey, Lina? You two ready? Zel and I are," Gourry said, sticking his head in the slightly open door, and looking into the room at the two girls.

Lina turned, forcing a smile and nodding. "I think so. Aren't we done, Amelia?"

The princess took the more than obvious hint, and picked up her bag, looking down. "If you say so, Miss Lina..."

Gourry knew right then that something was wrong, Amelia's downcast eyes told him that. He suspected that it was something to do with how Lina had acted when she and Zelgadis had returned. He'd have to ask Amelia later, because he knew if he asked Lina, the only thing he'd get for his concern was a fireball in his face, and he didn't want to bother Zelgadis about it. The shaman had seemed disturbed enough when he'd returned.

Lina herself paid for the rooms, something which took all three of the others by surprise. She brushed it off, saying instead that her purse was getting a bit heavy, and that the best way to lighten it was by paying for things.

Right away, they knew something was wrong.

Lina was preoccupied.

Of course, saying that was one hell of an understatement. She was far more than preoccupied. Preoccupation implied that there was only a little on her mind. On the contrary, there was an entire world of things on her mind. And the vast majority of it had to do with Zelgadis. It was that stupid spell, it had to have been. Before the spell had taken effect, there was nothing about Zelgadis that came even close to looking like he wanted a relationship. He'd pry himself out of Amelia's grasp faster than it took her to realize that he'd done it. He preferred to be alone, to go off on his own in search of his cure.

_Zelgadis is a loner, not a lover, Lina thought to herself, shaking her head and watching the road continue to unfold under her feet.__And no matter what he may think, I'll find a way to break through the spell that makes him think that he loves me. She paused, hearing his voice echo in her mind. "His spell is the whole reason that I have the courage to tell you any of this."__ I'll find a way to keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life. I promise you, Zel. I can't take advantage of you like that._

The guard had transferred Lina across to Gourry, and the blonde swordsman carried the unconscious sorceress up to her room with a very worried Sylphiel following closely behind. Amelia was only a few steps behind Sylphiel, giving orders to a handmaid to take care of any further visitors, and to have various things brought up to Lina's room.

As the handmaid scurried off, Amelia turned her gaze back to the cascade of red hair that fell over Gourry's arm. She had a lot to blame Lina Inverse for. But the question to ask herself was would she help heal Lina in order to punish her later, or would she count this as Lina's punishment?

It had been a hellacious battle without Lina or Zelgadis or anyone else to help her. But the monster had been cornered, and Amelia was taking stock of the situation. Her father, Philionel was injured badly, and the last wave of resistance had fallen back. It was solely up to Amelia now. She'd never cast what she was contemplating before, even though she knew the words. She knew that a follower of Cephied could cast the Dragon Slave, Sylphiel had done so once. So Amelia was going to give it a try.

"Darkness beyond the twilight, crimson beyond the blood that flows…" she started, straining to feel the power that should accompany it. But there was nothing.

A new voice, ragged and rough with pain caught her attention, and she looked up to see a figure in a black cloak standing on a nearby roof, hands aimed at the monster.

"Power beyond the twilight, in crimson blood that flows…Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand! DRAGON SLAVE!"

The words were slightly different than from what Amelia remembered, but the end result was just as devastating. The spell ripped away from the caster, tore down into the monster and destroyed it.

The woman landed beside Amelia, and the princess gasped as the back of her mind suddenly registered a whole great many things at once. The woman beside her was injured, and was undeniably her older sister Gracia. And Gracia, who couldn't even control anything beyond a simple flare arrow or a freeze arrow before she had vanished had cast the Dragon Slave.

Amelia reached out and caught her sister as she fell.

It had turned out that Gracia had been running around the world, calling herself Naga. And the one she'd learned the Dragon Slave from was none other than Lina Inverse. Of course, that was many years before Amelia had met Lina, but it still did nothing to appease the younger princess. Lina hadn't taught Amelia that spell. And now it would be her sister's death. Gracia had had no business in casting it while she was so injured. But she had, and she had saved Saillune. But she had died for it.

And Amelia blamed Lina.

Gourry settled Lina carefully on the bed, and looked to Sylphiel. "It's like that time all those years ago, when she kept falling into the Astral Plane."

Sylphiel nodded. "Except that she hasn't. She's there… just not there. It's like something has … it's like she's locked herself away inside her own mind…"

Amelia closed the doors behind them all and walked over to the bed, carefully hiding any antipathy that she had for Lina. "Perhaps it is rest that she needs, and she will return to us when she has rested."

Gourry and Sylphiel nodded slowly, though not convinced.

Lina was indeed locked within herself. With that simple touch, that damnable Mazoku had shown her everything from the past three years. She wasn't dealing with it well at all.

She'd left the night of the ball, the results of that night she couldn't have known. He'd waited for her all that night and the following morning before the servants came in to announce that Lina had vanished in the night.

"I'm sorry, Zel… Lina is willful, stubborn, and totally and completely wrong on this one." Gourry said, clasping Zelgadis' shoulder. "If you want, we can head after her. She can't have gotten all that far. She was pretty tired."

Zelgadis took a breath and held it, debating for the moment. Then the answer came to him as clearly as if it had been written on the wall in front of him. "No, Gourry. This is her answer to me at last. So be it." Turning away, he stepped out of Gourry's grasp and left the room in silence.

Once again, it was as if she was there, standing in the room and unable to interact. She saw the stiffness in his shoulders; the tense steps as he left the room, and watched the others react. Gourry sighed, shaking his head, and Amelia did her dead-level best not to look too upset. But Lina could see that the damage was done.

She'd betrayed them all that night.

The scenery changed, Lina saw Sylphiel and Gourry get married, Zelgadis a silent figure in the back of the ceremony, watching without emotion. She knew that he'd declined the request to be Gourry's Armsholder in the ceremony. She wanted to rant at him, to scream that she wasn't worth ruining his life over. To tell him that it was only a spell and that he could break it if he'd wanted to. But nothing she could do would reach across the past. She curled into herself, her very soul aching, hating herself for what she had done, and hating Xellos for showing her all of this.

He stood in the shadow, watching the Palace. He still loved her. He always would. But he wasn't the same anymore. He didn't understand it, what had happened after that fight with Xellos. So it was easier to be someone else, not Zelgadis. He wondered, fleetingly, if his little brother would pitch a fit if he borrowed his name. The only true difference between himself and Jedah was that Jedah was damnably better at magic. No… best not to involve Jedah. Bad enough that Zelgadis had to abandon him when Rezo had turned him into a chimera. And explaining the family ties would be even more messy if he was asked.

Time to go. Time to start over. New life, new name. Whatever had happened, he'd been granted a second chance at a normal life and he wasn't about to screw it up again.

So why, by the Power of Cephied, did he feel like he was making the biggest mistake of his life?


	4. Chapter Four

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 4

It was sometime later in the day, and he had a shadow. Worse yet, he knew the raven-tressed maiden who followed him none too skillfully. Perhaps because she was who she was, he allowed her to think that he didn't know that she was there. _Sylphiel, after all these years, you still haven't changed, he thought as he rounded a corner and turned around, coming to such a quick halt that she ran into him with a startled squeak. After all, Sylphiel would never swear. She couldn't even cast a flare arrow._

"You," he began coldly. "Are following me. Why?"

She looked up into the aquamarine eyes that were like frozen ice crystals, and blinked. "Oh, Mister Zelgadis! I'm so glad it's you! I was following a strange man in a black cloak who might have known something about what's happened to poor Lina. You haven't seen him by any…" her voice trailed off as she saw the coldness in his eyes and the gold trim on the black hood. "Oh… dear… You're not Mister Zelgadis…"

He arched an eyebrow, fighting a fierce internal struggle. Part of him wanted to race to Lina's side, to do whatever he could to help. But the other part of him wanted nothing more of it. That life was over, had been over since that day so long ago now, that day when she walked out of all of their lives. It had taken that fight with Xellos only days before for him to realize it. And it was with the dismissive side that he answered the raven-haired cleric, voice and eyes as cold as ice.

"If you mean the red-haired woman in black, then I will tell you what I know." He paused, as if for her confirmation, even though he knew that it was her. "I was preparing for my trip when I saw her in NightWisp's Tavern. She was at the bar with a drink, though not really seeming to drink it. She fell out of the chair and was picked up by a priest with purple hair. I did not trust his intent, and relieved him of her at first chance. I took her to the Royal Guards and was done with it."

She blinked. "You mean you… oh no… not Xellos! Why, he must be up to nothing good! Would you please come with me to the Palace? I'm certain that Amelia would want to hear this…"

"No, I cannot. There is somewhere I must be. Do excuse me, I must go," he replied, instantly wary. If Amelia saw him… she would know.

"Oi! Sylphiel! Who's that?" Gourry called as he walked up from across the city's square.

She turned to look to Gourry, and as she did so, failed to see the mysterious figure draw up his hood and seemingly vanish.

He took three quick and successive steps backwards, fading into the shadows. That was entirely too close, he decided. But what had that damnable Xellos done to Lina? No, he mustn't think about that. Mustn't think about her. Anything but her. Anything, anything at all…

They'd been heading towards a new town after leaving the confused citizens of the Lost City that was above Ishii, walking companionably together. Neither was saying a thing, yet each was keenly aware of the other. Behind them, the blonde swordsman and the brunette princess exchanged worried looks. Something was wrong, and it looked like the relationship was going to crumble. An uneasiness lay between the chimera and the sorceress like a heavy black cloud.

At length, Lina stopped, and turned to Amelia. "Amelia, I want you to cast the strongest disenchant spell you know how to, okay?"

Amelia blinked, looking around in confusion. "But… why, Miss Lina? I didn't sense anything…"

Lina sighed with barely hidden exasperation, hands clenching. "Just do it, Amelia…"

The young princess looked at the telltale signs of imminent fireball, then nodded at Lina and focused her will for a moment, then cast the disenchantment spell.

Nothing happened.

Lina sighed, shook her head, and turned away. "That answers that, then. Well, let's go…"

Zelgadis walked up alongside Lina and looked to her. "What was that all about?"

Lina shook her head. "I thought that maybe I had sensed something like what we found in Ishii. But fortunately, I was wrong." She was lying, and she knew it. Unfortunately, so did he.

He reached out, catching her arm and drawing her to a stop. "That's not it. That's not it at all, Lina. You're still afraid that I'm under Rezo's spell, aren't you? That I'm not really in love with you. Isn't that it?" Anger and hurt colored his voice as the golem aspect's emotions went rippling through him with startling intensity.He still hadn't learned to integrate them fully. That would come with time. Except that it was doing damage to the strained relationship right now.

She looked at him, something somewhere between despair and fear caught in her eyes. "Why else would you be this way, Zelgadis? This isn't like you!"

"And it isn't like you to have a discussion like this out in the middle of a forest with an audience!" He motioned to the all-too-obviously not-watching Amelia and Gourry. "So while we're at it, this not acting like ourselves…" Acting purely on the aspect's emotions, he pulled her close into a kiss, which he would later reflect on as his least brightest move.

Years later, the memory of that slap still stung. She'd hit him, and she'd hit impressively hard, considering his stone skin. She'd even actually broken her own hand on his stone skin… a fact that still hurt to think about.

That had been the beginning.

He'd wanted to prove it to her, that it wasn't a spell or a change. That he'd always been in love with her, but never been able to say it. He wasn't very good at it. The fierceness of the emotions kept getting in the way. More times than not, he'd offer what he'd meant to be a compliment, but it would come out wrong and he'd end up insulting her. It was difficult for him to express the true intensity of his feelings, and he knew it. He never even thought that she might have the same difficulty with her own emotions compounded by the belief that he was only acting still under the spell.

He paused in the shadow where he had hidden, watching Gourry and Sylphiel react to his sudden disappearance, and again told himself that it was for the best. After all, how could he possibly explain what had happened? He didn't even quite understand it himself.

He turned, drawing the cloak around himself, and walked quietly away.

Sylphiel sighed. "He was just here… that strange man that looks like Zelgadis. Lina was right. I tried to get him to come to the Palace, but he refused. Oh, Gourry dear, it's Xellos behind this. That man said that he had taken Lina away from that Mazoku priest."

Gourry blinked in his most intelligent fashion, which admittedly depended entirely upon the circumstances at the time. "Well, we'd better go tell Amelia.She'll need to know about Xellos."

Sylphiel nodded quietly. "Yes, she does…" _That man looked so much like Zelgadis… Oh, I wonder what has happened this time? She broke free of her thoughts and taking Gourry's arm, headed back towards the Palace._

Amelia stood silent with rage as Sylphiel told her story. The last time Gourry had seen anything near close to that level of rage was when Lina had called the Laguna Blade on Garv with practically nothing held back. But then, he'd missed a lot of other times when Lina had completely blown her temper. Particularly at Hellmaster Phibrizo. And while he knew what to expect from Lina… Amelia was a completely wild card to him. Especially now, after the events of the past year had hardened the princess.

He stood there, watching her tight control, watching the anger and fury collect into her eyes. Sylphiel, beside him, sighed and shook her head. "So Xellos really isn't dead."

A strange sound caused Amelia to look up, and Sylphiel and Gourry turned to see Lina standing in the archway like a ghost.

"Lina?" Sylphiel asked, but the sorceress simply stood there, eyes seeing but unseeing.

"Lina…" Gourry said, frowning. She wasn't Astral. That was clear, even to him. What she reminded him of was a broken spirit wavering in the wind.

The redhead turned and walked out of the Hall, footsteps light and strangely even. She drifted across the room beyond, and disappeared into the stairwell.

"Poor Lina…" Sylphiel breathed softly. 

"Poor Lina," Amelia echoed dully. It was clear that she didn't share the same sentiment as Sylphiel. Her voice chilled somewhat. "Lina will learn to go on. Life keeps moving, whether you want it to, or not."

Gourry looked at Amelia, seeing the anger and distrust, remembering the reasons that Amelia felt this way, and shook his head. "Maybe it would be better if you just talked it out with her, Amelia…"

Amelia turned chilled blue eyes on him. "Mister Gourry, because you have worked with me in the past, I will forgive you that comment."

Gourry wasn't going to leave it be. "But doesn't Lina deserve that same forgiveness?"

She stood in the room that had been granted her while she was in the Palace, looking out of the window over the waters by Saillune. Thoughts floated incoherently through her mind, unconnected and unbidden. She missed him so badly that her heart hurt. She could feel nothing else, not even the feel of the green velvet of the dress on the bench beside the window.

Without truly considering it, she changed into the dress, leaving out the hair ribbon, her long red hair cascading where it would, tumbling down her back like untempered flames. There was a muted wildness within her appearance… and a strange emptiness in her eyes.

For a long time, she stood before that window, staring at the water beyond the docks where she once set sail, eyes dulled and spirit absent. The passage of time had no relevance to her. She simply was.

And yet, she was not.

Being so, she did not sense the presence of the Mazoku who stared at her covetously.

He couldn't leave the city. It was not for lack of trying, it was the simple matter that every time he set his feet in the direction of the nearest gate out, he ended up lost in such a horrible muddle of thoughts that he ended up turned around and heading back towards the Palace.

It was extremely irritating, but he finally decided to let it drop, and instead stay in the city and see what that damned Mazoku was plotting. Having decided, he turned down a street, finding the small tavern nearby, and upon entering it, hailing the bartender.

"Ah… you have returned, traveler. What is it that I can get for you?" Arendil asked congenially.

The reply was quiet. "If you have coffee, I will drink it. Beyond that, it is information that I want."

Arendil chuckled and turned away to bring the stranger a mug of coffee. As he returned, he set the mug down and looked over the customer. "If it's information that you want, you have come to the right place. What is it that you look for?"

"The woman who was here. What did she want?"

"Woman…? Oh. The red-head who'd had a bit much to drink?" Arendil replied, studying the other.

"Yes. Her. What was she here for?" he asked, reaching out to pick up the mug of coffee and sip from it.

"She was here asking about some guy with stone skin and wire hair. And then she was asking about the missing Crown Princess Gracia."

There was a soft exhale before he replied to Arendil. "I see. And what do you know of either of them?"

Arendil shook his head. "Nothing about the guy with stone skin, though I think I ought to. Sounds somewhat like that bodyguard that Princess Amelia had for a while. But he's been gone for a while now.As for Gracia, no-one knows what happened to her. She just vanished one day after the Queen was assassinated."

"Hm." He set down his coffee mug and nodded.

Before he could say anything, however, Arendil had a question of his own. "I saw you depart shortly after the Priest took the young lady."

Blue eyes flickered to the bartender. "That was Xellos Metallium, the Trickster Priest. The young woman did not remain in his possession for long. She was returned to the Palace Guards."

"And Xellos?" Arendil pressed.

"He is around, quite possibly cursing me, for what good it would do him. The reasons for his actions are known only to him."

Arendil nodded, knowing that this information needed to be brought to the Knight's attention. Something was beginning in Saillune, and he wanted to make sure it wasn't unnoticed. Just then, someone at the bar hollered over for service, and with a patent apologetic smile, Arendil took leave of the quiet stranger and moved to the bar.

He picked up his coffee again, contemplating the new information. _So… Lina is looking for Zelgadis. I'm sorry, Lina. He isn't here anymore…_

Lina had missed lunch. Concerned, Sylphiel had gone looking for her, and found the sorceress sitting on a concrete bench in the middle of one of the many gardens around the Palace. As she approached Lina, Sylphiel saw that Lina was wearing that green dress that Amelia had given her years ago, and her talismans were nowhere to be seen. The redhead did not look over as Sylphiel approached, and finally, Sylphiel was forced to call out to Lina.

"Lina...? You missed lunch."

Lina finally looked over and simply nodded. "Sylphiel…" her voice was quiet. "Have you ever done something that you regretted so much… and been unable to do a thing about it?"

Sylphiel thought about it as she sat beside Lina. "I regretted moving the Blessed Blade once… but I think maybe somehow I was supposed to move it. It wouldn't have been there if I hadn't."

Lina shook her head. "I can't think of anything good that's come out of my leaving, Sylphiel. Not a single thing. And I don't know why I did it."

Silence fell between the two girls who were unable to sense the presence of the Mazoku watching them.

_Oh, I know why, Lina Inverse. But that is a secret…_


	5. Chapter Five

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 5

She only ate because Sylphiel forced her to. She only slept when she absolutely had to, falling into unconsciousness in the chair on the porch of her rooms. She didn't leave the palace grounds, didn't attend the daily functions of the royal family. She hadn't even caught up with Prince Phil. Instead, Lina Inverse drifted through as if she were the memory of someone else caught in the moment. Somewhere, hidden in the very back of her mind was a small thought that she shouldn't be like this, that she shouldn't languish away over the loss of Zelgadis. That he wouldn't want her to do this to herself. But, as mentioned before, it was a very small thought and it was buried under a great deal of other concerns.

One of those concerns was the fact that Amelia hated her.

She'd seen it when Xellos has showed her the time that had passed during her absence, and everything that had happened. She knew that Amelia hated her because she had hurt Zelgadis, hated her for what she'd inadvertently done to her sister… hated her for abandoning them all and vanishing to the four winds of the world.

Worst of all, Lina hated herself for it.

She sat in the garden, quietly watching the waterfall, the unknowing and uncaring orange koi swimming smoothly under the lily-pads of the reflecting pool. Very slowly she became aware that she herself was being watched, and she looked over to see a person in the distance. He could stay there, for all she cared. _Probably some guard that Amelia hired to keep me from killing myself. She'd rather keep me alive and prolong my suffering so that she can do away with me herself. Oh no, Amelia. I won't let you win that one. I'll give you the others, but I won't ever give you the satisfaction of my blood._

She turned away from him, looking back to the water and the rippling caused by the falls. Maybe if she ignored him, he wouldn't bother her, and she could pretend that he wasn't there.

"Excuse me. You are… Lina Inverse?" The voice was quiet, familiar.

She turned at length, looking at him without any real interest until she saw how very close he looked to her fading memory of that man with the gold-trimmed hood who had looked like Zelgadis. As she stood, the first rush of emotions in a long time crashed over and through her, the blend of anger and sorrow threatening to burst the fragile hold she still claimed on sanity. "What do you want? You made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with me. So go away and leave me in peace," She turned on her heel to stalk away, when a hand caught her arm.

"My lady, you do me discredit. I don't think that I am who you think you address." His hand fell away as he spoke, as if he had realized what he had done.

_What? She turned, looking at him. Long violet hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, and eyes of the same shade of blue and shape as Zelgadis' looked back with curiosity. She blinked, stunned out of the haze that had settled upon her. "Who… __are you?"_

He smiled faintly, far more easily than Zelgadis ever could have, she decided there on the spot. "My name is Jedah Graywords. I came for the funeral… I'm… well… I was Zelgadis' little brother."

Every thought in Lina's head came to a screeching halt as the words 'little brother' came crashing unceremoniously into place. She stared at him. She stared at him some more. And just when he thought that she'd completely lost all hold on reality and was going to faint, she lifted a hand to her forehead and shook her head slowly. "Little… brother…?" Her hand slipped from her brow, down her cheek, cupping the side of her chin as she looked at him again.

He shook his head slowly. "Don't ask. It's a long story and not very relevant. Anyway, I came to ask you a question." He paused, looking at her curiously. "Are you Lina Inverse?"

She nodded slowly, looking at him and seeing little differences now. The shape of his jaw wasn't exactly like Zelgadis'… and Jedah's ears were definitely round.

"I have something that I was to give you if I ever came across you. I don't think this was how he imagined we would meet… and I'm pretty sure that he meant for you to find him after this was given. But his death… makes it all the more important now." Jedah held out his hand, in which Lina could see a leather-wrapped object. He offered it to her quietly, himself unsure of the content.

Slowly, she unwrapped the object, gasping in abject shock when she saw clearly what it was_. Is this…?_

"Lady… Miss Inverse?" Jedah asked nervously, for she had gone as white as a sheet, and he feared that she would faint before him. He didn't want to upset her… he remembered the warnings Zelgadis had given him three years ago…

"So you must be very polite to her, do you understand, Jedah?" his older brother handed over the small leather bundle.

"I think so… but if she's so destructive… why do you like her?" Jedah asked guilelessly, blinking wide eyes at his brother, who wouldn't remove his hood and cowl, no matter how hard he'd tried to talk Zelgadis out of his hot clothing.

"Maybe it's because she is so destructive… will you please stop asking me all these questions, Jedah?" Zelgadis asked, exasperated. "You've done nothing but pester me incessantly since I got here."

"I'm sorry… it's just that a lot has happened for you since you left… I'm curious, and jealous. I mean, not everyone has fought Shabranigdo, Zanifaar, the Demon God Garv, Hellmaster Phibrizo, the Lord of Nightmares Herself… Dark Star of another of the Worlds…" Jedah counted on his fingers as he named those that Zelgadis had stood against with Lina. "I mean… I'd have given anything to be with you!"

"I'd rather have been somewhere else during all those times. Jedah, my life isn't exciting. It's dangerous. And all those times, Lina was the one who rose above the odds and beaten back that which wanted to destroy us," Zelgadis said, shaking his head. _Jedah's going to have to meet her in order to understand…_

And now he stood before her, and he did understand. There was something about her that he could sense, some intangible force that he knew could reach out and change reality. He knew that she was well-deserving of every respect he could offer her… and because Zelgadis had loved her… he would grant her the same respect that he would of the Lady Lord of Nightmares.

She shook her head silently, silencing her thoughts and closing her hand around the leather and its unknown contents and looked away, to the water again. Tears threatened her eyes, that now-familiar tightness forming in her throat. Looking up to the sky in an attempt to fight the tears and force her throat to relax, she gathered herself and spoke. "You should tell the others that you are here. Go inside and speak with the Princess Amelia." Her voice was hollow, she knew that he could hear the tears that she fought back.

"If… if you insist, Miss Inverse…" He sounded perplexed. She honestly didn't blame him. But she heard the footsteps as he walked away, and sighed softly. _Oh… Zelgadis…_

She closed her eyes and collected herself for the return walk to her rooms. She'd had enough of the garden today. She'd retire to her rooms until Sylphiel dragged her out of them. And she knew beyond shadow of a doubt that the cleric would.

He stood silently in the shadows of the garden, pale and shaken. If Jedah was here… there would be no hiding for much longer. The boy would sense him the instant he put half a mind to it_. Damn! And he gave her the gift. I can't fault him for it, I told him to do it…and he did it well… but… He paused as Lina came out onto the balcony where he'd watched her for the past several nights, and leaned on the railing, looking out over the garden and off over the water__. Will she stay there all evening? No, she's turning, someone's calling her from inside. His hearing picked up the soft female voice, and he smiled faintly.__ It's Sylphiel. Bless her… without her, I think Lina would simply fade away…_

He watched her turn away from the balcony railing and move back into the room proper. But what would he do? He had to do something, anything other than stand here and watch her. Angst was one thing. Torture was another, and he wasn't a Mazoku.

Tonight, he would leave. He had to. He couldn't stay, not after Jedah's arrival. He would say goodbye tonight, and go. _I can't stay. With all that's happened… I'm not the same. She's in love with someone who died… and I can't bear to keep watching her. She'll forget me. She'll have to._

But would he forget her?

Lina picked at her food all through dinner. Sylphiel, sitting beside her, was constantly reminding her to eat. It worked every so often, for Lina would take a small bite and chew it slowly before swallowing only because it shushed Sylphiel for a few minutes. It was just that food wasn't all that interesting to her right now.

Between Sylphiel's admonishes to Lina, Jedah was talking animatedly about his strange claim to brotherhood with Zelgadis. As far as Lina could tell, Amelia was hanging on every word that Jedah uttered. It was distracting, even if sickening.

"Lina… you're not eating," Sylphiel said as softly as ever.

With a sigh, Lina stuck another forkful of steak into her mouth. The food wasn't bad… she just didn't have her old appetite anymore. She continued to listen to Jedah and Amelia, at length forgetting to eat.

"Lina…" Sylphiel began warningly.

Amelia looked up to Sylphiel. "Sylphiel… if Lina still isn't feeling well enough to eat, why force her? Lina… you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

The redheaded sorceress, unlike Sylphiel, knew better than to think Amelia was being nice. She knew the moment she left earshot, Amelia would be telling Jedah how awful she was for leaving Zelgadis like that. And Amelia would be right.

Without word, Lina rose from the table, walking silently out of the room. She could feel Jedah's curiosity and Gourry's worry, but they'd just have to deal with it. She wasn't in the mood to be sociable, nor was she feeling particularly welcomed.

She opened the dining room door, and the guard outside offered her a friendly smile, but she simply ignored him and moved on up to her rooms. She just didn't feel like making the effort to smile back.

Once in her rooms, with the door closed, she drew the leather bundle out and unwrapped it carefully, looking quietly at the glittering gem cupped in her hand. _Oh, Zelgadis… Is this truly what I think it is? She didn't cast a spell to identify it; she hadn't used magic since the day of her return to Saillune. She hadn't wanted to. Not since she found out about his death… no, her magic hadn't left her. She had simply decided not to use it. So she would content herself in the thought of what the stone might have been, a way to find him, an invitation to come back to him…_

She fastened the golden clasp around her neck, dropping the now-empty leather bundle carelessly on the bed and moving out onto the porch. It was quiet tonight, the moon hanging low in the trees like a lighting spell. It reminded her of any number of nights out on the road, travelling with her friends. She kept the stars for company now, they didn't wish her ill, didn't blame her for any of her transgressions… They did not annoy her, and they passed no judgement.

Bad enough she passed her own judgements on herself, she reflected as she curled up in the chair and looked out over the gardens. _I need to pull myself together and get out of here. This isn't like me. There's just too much here that's holding me down, keeping me broken like this. Amelia clearly isn't my friend anymore… and as much as I can appreciate the fact that Sylphiel cares… she's driving me crazier than I already am…_

She must have drifted off to sleep while considering, for a tiny sound awoke with a sudden jolt. She was not alone on the porch. Two brilliant blue eyes were looking at her from a shadow, and she resisted the overwhelming urge to scream. _What's wrong with me? I never scream… After a moment, in which she fought with herself over how to react, she finally decided to resolve this without the palace aid, if she could, and allowed a tinge of annoyance to touch her voice. "Who are you?"_

His head lifted somewhat, the fading moonlight catching his eyes and giving them an eerie light. _The man from before, in town…those eyes aren't Jedah's._

She hissed, tightening her grip on the chair. "By what right have you to bother me? Go away and leave me be."

His gaze focused at her neck, and she lifted a hand to touch the aquamarine at her throat. As her fingers closed about the stone, she felt a little steadier, but not much_. What does he want from me? I let him go, left him alone… She couldn't know of Sylphiel's effect on him, and uncertain of his intent, she wavered for a moment, then rose from her chair to move towards the door into her room. __It would be so easy to scream… "Fine. If you won't go, I will. I haven't started dealing with mystery men who threaten to fireball me, and I have no intention to begin tonight."_

As she turned away to leave, a hand fell heavily on her waist, the velvet of her skirt swishing around her legs as she was brought to a halt.

Angrily, she spun back, a white-hot fire catching light in her eyes. "Let go of me, this instant, or I'll show _you a fireball that you'll live to regret! There's only one man in this world who could ever have the remote permission to touch me like this, and you are __not him!" She said as the bare beginnings of a fireball formed brightly in her hand, the brilliance playing off of her hair and eyes. __I'm bluffing… aren't I? I don't want to cast this… _

There. There she was, on the balcony, just as she had been before. But this time, she wasn't alone. W_ho is with her? Xellos thought as he approached for his evening visit. He'd been watching her on the balcony for the past few nights, and it was time to see if he couldn't pull Lina out of her depression and begin __his chance with her. __No… curse him! The Mazoku's fist clenched, anger glinting darkly in his violet eyes. __We are well-matched, Zelgadis. But I swear to you that I will win._

She was quickly becoming the living embodiment of her fireball. This man who looked so much like Zelgadis, who stared at her with such intensity… why was she having trouble releasing the fireball? Why, instead, did it feel like the flames were within her soul instead of in her hand?

"Let me go…" She said, trying to pull out of his single-handed grasp. _Damn, he's too strong. Like Zelgadis… I can't get free._

"Lina…"

She stopped struggling, snapping irritably as she broke her own train of thought forcefully. "Okay, big deal, so you know my name. Now let go of me." A true fireball began to form in her hand this time, and she knew that she intended to cast it.

He reached up with his free hand, pulling down the gold-rimmed hood. "Lina… it's… me," he said in a very quiet voice. "Zelgadis."

The fireball extinguished itself, she stared for a moment, and then she uncharacteristically fainted. 


	6. Chapter Six

Perchance to Dream

# Chapter 6

When Lina opened her eyes, she was lying comfortably in bed. The ceiling above her was the one she'd opened her eyes to see for the past six nights. Hadn't she meant to leave last night? And something… some_one had stopped her. But who…? She turned and saw Sylphiel standing there and sighed softly, wincing as the memory washed over her. __It must have been a dream. She saw Sylphiel turn to her and offered the cleric a weak smile. "I'm sorry… did I oversleep for breakfast, Sylphiel? I had the strangest dream… I think… I think he came to tell me that it was time I stopped moping…" She knew now why she'd dreamed it. It really was time that she stopped feeling sorry for herself, stopped being stupid, and let him go. Her unhappiness could only make his spirit unhappy too._

Sylphiel gave her a strange look, then shook her head. "No, Lina… That's not what…"

"Sylphiel…"

Lina's eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. His voice. _That was his voice…! _She sat upright, looking to Sylphiel, who only offered a faint little smile.

The cleric moved aside, and Lina saw him standing there looking at her lying on the bed with such intensity that she felt that she couldn't breathe under his gaze. She didn't see anything but the fierce emotions in his eyes, the pain and longing. Sylphiel's presence was quickly forgotten as Lina sat up and looked at him with tears in her own eyes. "Zel…" Her throat choked up, and Lina forced herself to take a deep breath and try again. "Zelgadis…?"

He moved forwards to the bed, not stopping until he had leaned down and gathered Lina completely into his arms, pulling the sorceress into an embrace that Lina found herself returning.

Blushing, caught by the intensity of the emotions in the room, Sylphiel stepped backwards, moving away only to be caught at the door by a surprised Gourry. In a hushed voice, the swordsman asked, "Is that…?"

"Yes, Gourry dear, it would seem that he is. But let's let them talk…" Sylphiel said as she steered her husband out of the room and closed the door behind them.

As the door closed, Lina opened her eyes as she rested her head against his neck. Pink skin… soft hair... He was human… It struck her like a bolt. _Zelgadis is… human! But…_ "Zel… how…?" She brought up her hand to feel the silkiness of his hair, to feel the warmth of skin. His scent had changed slightly, too. There was something different now, a scent of spiced earth. She took another breath, trying to prove to herself that she wasn't dreaming.

His breath was warm against her cheek as he spoke. "It's… something that even I don't truly understand… but… it's real. It's as real as the…" He paused. "As real as the fact that I love you," The words were quiet, emotions that she couldn't see running deeply within his eyes.

She sighed softly, lowering her face into his shoulder, breathing in that tantalizingly new scent. "Zel… it's just a spell. You can't love me… you've never shown anything that would tell me that you did. There wasn't anything there between us until after Rezo's spell caught us both."

He shook his head, and his hair tickled her cheek. "No, Lina. I simply never said anything. How could I, knowing what I am… what I looked like?"

She pulled herself away from him, resting her hands on his shoulders andlooking at those aquamarine eyes, feeling herself falling into them. He'd always been easy to love… but now that she'd missed him for three years, and thought that she had lost him… he was even dearer to her now. "Zel… the only one who cared what you looked like was you." She watched the blush creep across his cheeks. "And besides… Amelia thought you were pretty cute."

"I know," came his reply. "But she's changed now. So have you, Lina. In fact…" Zelgadis' reply was broken off by a loud and excited voice on the other side of the bedroom door.

"He's in there? Let me through! Zelgadis!"

The ex-chimera in question sighed heavily, sitting up and allowing Lina to get a good look at him as he turned his head. "Yes, Jedah. I'm in here. You don't have to shout…"

The door burst open, Sylphiel vainly trying to keep the exuberant young man in check. Unfortunately, her grasp slipped, and the sudden release of force caused Jedah to go flying gleefully towards Zelgadis.

When the dust cleared, Jedah was happily half on the bed, half on Zelgadis. Zelgadis had been shoved fully onto the bed by the sheer force of brotherly impact. 

As for Lina, her hand could be seen sticking out from under both Zelgadis and Jedah. A moment passed, then her hand twitched, and from somewhere under Zelgadis, she started to rant. "Get off me! You're _heavy_!"

Jedah peered at the hand while still perched on Zelgadis. "Oh no! Is that… Lina?"

Zelgadis smirked a bit as he started to work his way out from under the boy. "Yes. And I'd suggest that you move. Quickly."

Neither Zelgadis nor Jedah managed to move fast enough. With a snarl, Lina stood up on the bed from underneath the both of them, sending the two males flying out towards the balcony. Eyes blazing, she growled. "I _said_ get off!"

Zelgadis had his ray-wing spell. Jedah simply had Cepheid's own luck, and came to a delicate halt on his feet just inside the balcony door.

Sylphiel stood at the door watching with her hands pressed to her mouth. _Oh no…_

"Well… it's good to see that things are fairly back to normal," Zelgadis said wryly from his floating position by the ceiling.

Lina, for her part, only shot Zelgadis a look.

A few hours later, everyone except Lina was collected in the dining room. Sylphiel had managed to get the over-excited Jedah to sit at the table and sidetracked the boy with food.

Zelgadis stood quietly by the door, caught in his old habit of brooding. His hood was up, those ice-blue eyes focused off somewhere on something that only he could see. Across the room, Amelia watched him quietly, her own gaze hardened over the years.

Lina finally walked into the room, the heavy skirts of her black gown trailing on the floor. Long tight sleeves ended at points on her wrists, and the bodice was dramatically laced and rather tight, a slender black ribbon at her throat offsetting the lack of ribbon at her forehead. A delicate gold chain vanished into the neckline of the dress, pendant unseen. Her hair still tumbled loosely about her shoulders, and as Zelgadis turned, Jedah piped up rather loudly.

"Hey Zel, she almost looks as good as you do in black!"

Startled into embarrassment by Jedah's impromptu compliment, Lina looked to Zelgadis… and found with hidden delight, that he was blushing as well. She gave a half-laugh and as she shook her head, saw the unmitigated fury hidden in Amelia's eyes. Her laugh broke, and Lina looked to Amelia quietly. _Oh no… I've done it again… without even trying! How long have I upstaged her… it's so clear that she hates me…Don't the others see it?_ Lina opened her mouth to speak to the princess, but Amelia turned away, looking instead to a servant, giving orders without speaking.

With a sigh, the sorceress shook her head, smiling feebly to Zelgadis. "Well… he's right. You do look pretty good in black, Zel." The blush deepened on his cheeks, and she giggled in spite of the bad vibes emanating from Amelia.

"I've requested lunch. I hope everyone is hungry," Amelia said icily, causing almost everyone in the room to stare at her. Only Jedah was unaffected by the tone of her voice, and he smiled brightly to the princess.

"That sounds great, Amelia! A lunch to celebrate the return of my brother! What a wonderful idea!"

Lina stared for a moment. _What is it with this kid? Can't he tell how angry Amelia is? Oh no… don't tell me that he likes her!?!_

Sylphiel broke the moment by laughing nervously. "Yes, what an excellent idea, Amelia."

For a moment, Amelia didn't look convinced. But it passed, and she smiled graciously. "Then we agree. Come, let us take our places at the table and they will serve us."

While the table was being served, a violet-haired figure waited for the cover of night to come. _Damn you, Zelgadis. You will not win her. That which I want, I get. Isn't that right… little Princess…? What you promised me…_

Amelia shivered for a moment, then frowned to a nearby servant. "Go close the doors. There is a draft disturbing us."

The servant scrambled off to do as she was bid, but before she could get to the door, she was interrupted by a boisterous voice that set every nerve Lina had in her body on edge."Is it lunchtime? I swear… time flies by so fast…"

The woman in the doorway wore practically nothing. The leather bikini left very little to the imagination, and the tiny little skull that she wore began to bounce as an ear-splitting laugh began to bubble out of the well-endowed chest.

Instantly, Lina was cringing, curled up in her chair, whimpering. "Somebody shut her up…"

Zelgadis looked from Lina over to this scantily-clad woman and immediately made the wrong association. _Is that her sister…?_

When no-one moved, Lina decided that she'd have to take things into her own hands. Picking up a dinner roll, she threw it at the woman in the doorway, who immediately stopped laughing and caught the roll in one hand, and then took a bite out of it. Around a mouthful of bread, she grinned. "Your aim is off, Lina. You're out of practice."

Lina's face reddened. "What the Hell are you talking about my aim, Naga? Your laugh hasn't gotten any better… and I thought you were dead!" In a flash, the petite sorceress was at Naga's side, pummeling her fist into her startled sometimes-adversary.

As everyone sat watching this bizarre exchange, Amelia slowly stood and placed both hands flat on the table. "Lina… will you please get off of my sister?" She said in a tightly controlled voice.

Everyone who did not know this fact (including Zelgadis, Jedah and Sylphiel) turned to stare disbelievingly at Amelia. Gourry only nodded sagely. "The resemblance is striking, isn't it?"

Lina let go of Naga to round on Gourry. "How did _you_ figure it out??"

Gourry held up a finger. "Easy. When she started to laugh and you cringed in your seat, I knew that it had to be either your sister Luna, or the woman that you traveled with before you met me. Because she had a bigger chest, I was pretty sure that she wasn't Luna. So that meant that she was Naga… and I knew that Naga was the middle name of the elder Princess of Saillune."

This time it was Gourry's turn to be pummeled by Lina. "What are you saying about my chest?!"

Naga walked up to the table and draped herself in a chair. "How long has it been, Amelia?" She looked to a servant, who immediately ran off to fetch the elder princess copious amounts of food.

Amelia sat quietly, looking across to her sister. "It's been about a month. Father and I weren't expecting you to come back to us so quickly…"

Naga waved it off as Lina returned to her seat, muttering under her breath. "The clerics were all very kind, and thought that I could do the last of my convalescing here at home."

"Can you…" Amelia began.

"No," came Naga's reply, almost immediately.

Lina looked up, gaze traveling from younger sister to older sister. "Eh… let her stay, Amelia. She may be a pain, but she's your family." _There's something I'm missing here…_

Naga started the ear-splitting laugh. "For once, Lina, I'll let your insults slide."

The rest of lunch was just as interesting.

Amelia retired to her chambers early, unable to put up with everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. She passed it off as being tired, and as she closed the door to her private rooms, she closed her eyes and leaned on the door. _Damnit! _She ranted to herself._I was so close… she's becoming herself again, and there's nothing I can do to stop it! Why did he come back? I knew Zelgadis wasn't dead… but why didn't he just go? I am never going to be free of this!_

A hand caressed her cheek, and her blue eyes snapped open. "Xellos…" She said quietly, knowing that he savored the disgust she felt at his touch.

He smiled darkly, resting his hand on her shoulder with surprising force. "What's going on, Amelia? We had an… arrangement, you and I. You said that you could handle it. And now Zelgadis is back. This puts a… cramp in my plans, I'm sure you realize…"

Amelia gritted her teeth, trying not to wince at the pain in her shoulder from his grip. "I'm doing what I can, Xellos. If you want Lina so badly, why don't you just take her away yourself?" She tore herself free, moving swiftly across the room. This was his little game with her, to scare her and try to force her to darken enough so that he could corrupt her. _Well, no way, Xellos. I'm not the foolish young girl that I was three years ago when we made that deal. I'll find a way to defeat you… with or without Lina Inverse._

"You know my reasons, Amelia. We made a deal. I expect the princess of Saillune to keep her end of the bargain. After all… no-one would want to know that the youngest princess of Saillune was a…"

She spun around, angry heat flashing into her eyes. "What? That you lay in my bed at night and I am forced to endure it? Get out of here, Xellos. It's not time for you to be here yet." She sat on the bed, fighting the tears that she knew would fall.

With a sarcastic laugh, Xellos faded from the room.

Outside the door, the listener frowned. The entire exchange had been overheard, and soon something would have to be done. But not yet… a trap would have to be set… The eavesdropper turned and moved silently out of the rooms in search of the one person capable of setting a trap for the Trickster Priest: Lina Inverse.


	7. Chapter Seven

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 7

Lina was quickly returning to her old self. Or, rather, Lina was becoming an altogether new version of herself. Sitting in a warm room in the palace and watching Jedah repeatedly making Zelgadis blush, she reflected on how much of herself she had shut away when she'd left. _I didn't even know myself when I looked in the mirror… and I didn't know that it was all because… because I loved him and didn't want to admit it._

"Lina… are you okay…?" Sylphiel's voice was fairly close, and Lina hadn't even seen her coming. She sat beside Lina, her wedding band catching the light and Lina's eye for a moment.

The redhead turned her head to look to the cleric and smiled faintly. "Sylphiel… is this… what you feel for Gourry? That without him… you aren't a whole person? That your whole life is so tightly entangled with his… that without him, you don't know who you are anymore?" Crimson eyes searched the startled cleric's expression.

After a moment, Sylphiel blushed. "Lina… do you remember the day that we fought Kopii Rezo? Our discussion about why you were traveling with Gourry dear?"

_How could I forget that day…_ Lina thought, the memory coming back to her.

_Lina grinned at Sylphiel as they continued walking. "After all... I'm after Gourry's Sword of Light!"_

The cleric-in-training paused to look at the sorceress. "The... The Sword of Light?"

Lina's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Sure! You saw how powerful it is! If I had that, I'd be the most powerful person in the world! I can't stand thinking that someone else owns it!" Seeing the strange look on Sylphiel's face, she paused. "Eh? What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt or something?"

_Sylphiel shook her head. "No, no I'm fine. So, that's the only reason you stay with Gourry?"_

Lina nodded. "Yeah… I told you that it was because of the Sword of Light. You got such a funny look on your face… oh." Realization finally dawned on Lina, and she started to blush. "You mean… you thought…"

Sylphiel smiled. "The two of you seemed so close at the time. I didn't know then that you were more like the little sister that he had to protect from the world."

Lina snorted softly. "Not like I _needed_ protecting…" She glanced over to Zelgadis, who seemed just on the edge of losing his temper with his brother.

"Enough questions, Jedah!" Zelgadis said abruptly, setting down his coffee on the table with the sharp retort of ceramic on wood. "You're doing it again." The last comment still directed to Jedah, he glanced over to Lina, who looked rather embarrassed with her discussion with a similarly blushing Sylphiel. _Wonder what _that_ is about…_he thought, only to be sideswiped by Jedah again.

"But it's been almost three years, Zel! I'm sure you've had all sorts of adventures to tell me!" Jedah protested, his own coffee forgotten beside him.

Zelgadis shook his head. "You'll just have to wait. It's getting late, anyway. And look…" he pointed over to the blonde swordsman who was sound asleep in the chair nearby. "_He's_ already snoring."

"Like _that's_ unusual," Lina retorted. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see Naga standing there with a strange look on her face. "Naga…?"

"Lina… I need to talk to you. Privately." Naga's voice was tight, and Lina got the distinct impression that something was wrong.

Concern flickering across her face, Lina stood up and looked to Naga. "Uh… excuse me, guys…" She looked to the group for a moment, then started to the door with Naga. In a low voice, she asked the question. "What's going on?"

Naga remained silent, not giving Lina an answer until they had walked outside and into the garden by the pond where Jedah had first encountered Lina. The entire way there, Lina watched her once-companion. _She's changed… almost… subdued. There's something really wrong here…_

Naga turned to Lina, looking to the shorter woman. "Lina. While you were gone, Saillune suffered an attack from a lesser monster. No-one else was here at the time… it was only Amelia to protect the city. Prince Philionel… my father… had been injured badly, and Amelia was going to cast the Dragon Slave."

Lina paled in terror. "There's no way! I never taught it to her! She'd have lost control of it if she had managed to cast it!" She shook her head. "No offense, Naga, but I can tell that it runs in the family… black magic just isn't your strong suit."

Naga turned to look at the water. "I was the one who cast it, Lina. I had learned it by watching you, but had never tried to cast it."

"You!??" Lina blurted in spite of herself. "But I didn't see any signs of damage…" She started looking about for any indication that a Dragon Slave had gone wrong.

Naga sighed. "That's because I didn't lose control of the spell. Perhaps the only time I ever cast a thing that didn't go horribly wrong. Instead, when I came to, I was in the care of the city clerics. I burned myself out that night."

Lina stared at Naga. "Burned… yourself out? You've lost your magic…?" _Oh no… poor Naga…_

"For a while, Amelia had thought that I was dead. She blamed you bitterly for it, too, because it was the Dragon Slave spell. But once she found out that I was injured, but would live, it wasn't so bad. Until _he_ came." Naga's voice hardened at the last sentence, and Lina's head snapped up.

"He?"

"His name is Xellos." Naga said quietly. "And against everything I have ever known from Amelia… she…"

Lina's stomach sank. In a bleak voice, she asked. "She _what_, Naga?"

Naga looked off to the dying sunlight. "I did not discover this until tonight… I went to talk to her before going to bed… and I overheard them talking. I think that she formed an alliance with him so that Saillune would be protected from further monster attacks."

"What kind of alliance…?" Lina had to know, even though she knew Xellos and could imagine any number of ways he would go about it.

Naga spun with tears in her eyes, grabbing Lina's arms and startling the redhead. "Lina, you have to help her! He's trapped her into something, and I heard her talking to him… he sleeps with her in her bed, and it's destroying my little sister and I can't even cast a fireball to stop him!"

Lina blinked, absorbing all of it at once, gaze hardening. Fire lit within her eyes, and in a low voice, she growled. "Why that low-down perverted Mazoku! He's trying to claim Amelia for the Monster race!" Her hands clenched into fists. "That would explain why she's so… different."

Naga shook her head, letting go of Lina and looking off to the water again. "No… Lina… his target is you. He told her that she was still supposed to bring you to him. But that the return of Zelgadis presented a problem. She threw him out, but he's coming back later tonight."

Lina blinked, the fire suddenly blown out within her. "Me? His target is me? Then why in Cepheid's name is he using Amelia…?" Her mind started working, calculating. _Of course… he knows that I'd see through him in a heartbeat. But after all that Amelia's been through… he could manipulate her and I wouldn't have… didn't even see it._ She sighed heavily. "So I have to figure out a way to free Amelia… Naga, I have to know… does she really hate me?"

Naga pondered for a moment. "I don't really know, Lina. Amelia's become so… withdrawn. Possibly to protect herself from Xellos… and I'm so worried about her." The emotion alone in Naga's voice told the sorceress that much, even though it was strange to hear Naga worried about anything.

Lina reached up and patted Naga's arm. "I'll do what I can, Naga." Magic began swirling around her skirts, lifting her up into the air. "And I'm going to start right now."

Naga turned to Lina, but only watched the sorceress head off for a balcony that she knew was not Amelia's. _I wouldn't approach Xellos in a skirt, either, Lina… please, be careful._

"You know that Xellos will figure it out," a voice came from the shadows nearby.

Naga spun, anger at being watched building in her eyes, as impotent as her fury could be now without her spells. "How dare you… oh…it's you…"

Zelgadis stood against a tree, watching her with quiet ice-blue eyes. He unfolded his arms and walked silently over to her. "I came out to bid you both a good evening and overheard. I apologize for that, but I want to tell you that Xellos won't win in anything that I choose to fight him on. And both Lina and Amelia are my friends. Which ultimately means that I'll be fighting Xellos again."

Naga smiled in relief, her shoulders lowering somewhat. "It's so frustrating… I can't even cast a fireball to help either one of them now."

"Have you tried?" Zelgadis countered.

Naga nodded. "Every time I try a spell, I end up having to go back to the clerics. This last time took a month for me to recover."

"What did you do?" he asked, walking over to the pond and looking down at the fish within.

She sighed. "I cast a fireball spell… and it felt as if I had thrown it on myself. Amelia said that she didn't see any flames… but I felt them burning me. It was so bad that I passed out. When I came to, I was in the care of the clerics again."

"Hm," he pondered, watching a fish jump in the water. "And you don't recall miscasting?"

"Of course not! I, Naga the White Serpent…" She started in a haughty voice, then thought better of it as he turned and simply looked at her. Tapping her first two fingers together, she sighed. "No… I'm pretty sure that I didn't miscast it… after all… the fireball is the easiest spell in the books…"

He nodded slowly. "It is."

"And I can still feel things… my magic sense still exists… I just can't cast anything anymore." Naga sighed, her shoulders drooping.

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes and wondered if Xellos had anything to do with that. Probably. "I have a few ideas, if you will humor me." He began to walk back towards the palace

"Ideas…" Naga asked curiously, hurrying alongside him.

Zelgadis nodded as they walked. "To see if your magic is gone, or simply sealed away. But there's one thing that you will absolutely have to do first."

Naga looked up to the palace doors, then over to the black-clad shaman. "And what is that?"

"You will have to put some clothes on."

Lina glanced in the mirror. It wasn't her normal clothing… that was too flashy for what she intended tonight. Tonight's ensemble consisted of black pants, a black shirt, and her headband back in place. The talismans remained off, but she wore the necklace from Zelgadis under the shirt.

# Okay, Lina…it'stime to go have a little 'talk' with Amelia…

She walked to the door, paused once in a brief wish for luck, and headed out into the hallway.

Amelia opened the door at Lina's knock, and was hardly prepared for the sleeping spell that Lina had in her hand. As she fell, she could vaguely hear Lina's words. "I'm sorry about this, Amelia. But it's time I put Xellos in his place…"

Lina caught Amelia as the princess fell. She pulled Amelia into a shadowy corner and rested her against the wall. Then, she turned and entered Amelia's rooms and bolted the door behind her.

She was lying silently in the bed when he phased in beside her, the additional weight alerting her to his presence. A moment of quick relief passed that she really wasn't noticeably different than Amelia when curled in a bed, but she dismissed the thought and remembered why she was in the bed.

"Hello, princess. Did you miss me?" Xellos asked sarcastically, his hand reaching up and around to her.

Lina rolled over before he could touch her and put both hands around his throat before he could react. _Damn! Either he's gotten soft from dealing with Amelia, or I still have my edge… and I think I know which one it is!_ "Of _course_ I missed you, you pervert! Now you'd better do some talking, or I'm going to start kicking some ass," she growled.

Xellos was turning blue, not that it truly mattered.

Outside, Amelia was slowly coming around, shaking her head and trying to make out where she was.

"Why… Lina…" Xellos croaked. "I didn't expect you to be here…" It was suddenly much harder to talk as her grip tightened.

"Well here I am, Xellos. The girl of your perverted little dreams. So what do you want with me, and why in the name of Cepheid are you using Amelia?" Lina snarled in his face, tiny little fangs beginning to show. Her temper was starting to fray, and she was itching to show Xellos that she wasn't playing.

"Ano… Lina, it's hard… to talk…" Xellos gasped.

She only let up a little bit. "There. Now start talking. I want to know what it was that you forced Amelia into, and how hard I'm going to have to hit you."

Amelia stood up, memory flooding back. Lina had come to her door and hit her with a sleeping spell. _She'd said something about putting Xellos in his place… how did she figure it out…?_

"Amelia."

The princess spun to see her sister standing there. "Grac- Naga…?"

Silently, her sister extended her hand. "You shouldn't be here. Let Lina take care of him. It's time we started working together again. Zelgadis thinks he has a way for me to get my magic back, and I'd like you to be with me… just in case…"

Amelia blinked, tilted her head and looked at her bedroom door, then looked back to Naga and nodded ever so slowly.

"A lesser monster had attacked Saillune, Lina. I would have defeated it, but Naga beat me to it," Xellos managed to say.

Lina snorted, hands still around his neck. "A monster that you sent to the city, no doubt. So you started this little extortion act to get to me. You knew that I'd hear of things going in Saillune and come running to help Amelia."

"Neh… Lina… you'll give me a bad name talking about me like that…"

Her grip tightened. "You already _have_ a bad name, Xellos. Now you'd better start talking!"

He smirked at her, and as he faded from sight and grasp, uttered the four words that she hated the most: "That is a secret."

"Arrgh!" She punched the pillow where his face had been. "That… that…" she searched for a word, and could only come up with what Filia had dubbed him years ago. "NAMAGOMI!!!"


	8. Chapter Eight

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 8

To say that Lina Inverse was pissed off was at the very least a gross understatement. Her loudly voiced epithet had shaken the entire palace of Saillune, and she had stormed out of Amelia's rooms with her anger crackling tangibly around her. She stalked out into the main hall in search of a servant of the royal family, and once she had found one, issued a request that Amelia, Zelgadis, Gracia (she actually remembered to call her that this time), Sylphiel, and Gourry to be roused immediately and brought to the dining room. As an afterthought, she included Jedah, and impressed upon the servant the need for food to be waiting for them. The wide-eyed girl stammered an acknowledgement and hurried off to do as bid.

Lina moved on to her room, but didn't bother to close the door… she wasn't going to be in there for long. She moved over to her chair and looped her belt around her arm, tucking the sword under her arm. Then she walked to the bed and pulled a velvet bag out from under the pillow. Most everything collected, she only paused at the door to pull her cloak off of the hook and slinging it over her shoulder as she swept out of the room.

Sylphiel and Gourry were sitting in the dining room when Lina walked in and dumped everything that she was carrying on the end of the table. Gourry was happily munching on a plate of food, while Sylphiel poked thoughtfully at her own food. Jedah popped through another door, and cheerfully grabbed a plate of assorted tidbits and began to dig in, only pausing long enough to offer greetings and see who was here and who was not.

Lina looked around as she fastened her belt and settled the sword at her side. Zelgadis, Amelia and Naga were missing. "Where are they?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice, not truly expecting an answer, but it had to be asked.

A nearby servant overheard her question, and hurried out of the room to go find them in all due haste.

The people in question were, at that very moment, moving through a small and obviously unused doorway into a lesser-known part of the palace.

It was the old wing, where the family had lived before the princess' mother was assassinated, after which the newer halls had been built. The girls were understandably hesitant to enter the old halls, but Zelgadis had insisted . Part of the reason was that it was quieter not only physically, but spiritually. He needed quiet in order to test his theory with Naga's magics, and old abandoned parts of palaces suited just fine.

Naga had actually changed clothes, exchanging the leather bikini for an off-white turtleneck and black pants. With her long hair pulled back into a ponytail, even Amelia had noted that Naga looked more… normal. The resemblance to Amelia was almost overpowering now. There was, however, one exception. Naga had insisted on keeping her necklace on and the tiny skull grinned in the shadows as they moved deeper into the unused palace wing.

After moving through a series of doors, Zelgadis at length held up his hand. "This will do." A ball of light left his fingers to raise up towards the ceiling and illuminate the room.

Both girls looked around nervously, trying to identify the room. Naga recognized it first and sighed in relief. "It's okay, Amelia. It's just Daddy's old study." She moved over to the desk, looking for a lantern or a candle.

Amelia relaxed and looked over to her sister. "It's been such a long time since I was in here… Daddy used to write up all of his important documents in here."

Zelgadis watched the two for a moment. _That's more like the Amelia that I remember…_ Out loud, he said, "Now let's see what we can do, Naga."

The older princess turned to look at him for a moment, then nodded. "What do you want me to do?" she asked as she walked back over to Zelgadis and Amelia, the hunt for a lantern forgotten.

Zelgadis considered. "Start to cast something. I'll have a nullify spell waiting, so don't worry about any backlash."

Naga looked as if she'd refuse for a moment, but nodded and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "Is there anything in particular that you want me to cast?"

"Not particularly, no. Just cast something simple, and relatively small. Amelia, I want you to back me up with a disenchant spell," Zelgadis said as he put his hand out, a sphere of a spell beginning to form.

Amelia nodded and put her hands together, frowning in concentration as she began the disenchant spell.

Zelgadis' voice was quiet in the room. "All right. Now, Naga."

"Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand…" Naga began, the magic building around her.

Another magic flared, and suddenly Zelgadis reached out and grabbed Naga's necklace, tearing the cord and pulling it away from her. "Amelia, the necklace!"

Amelia's disenchant spell washed over Zelgadis and the broken necklace right as Naga's fireball burst into her hand and fired off. Right at Zelgadis.

Of all the indignities that he had suffered in his life, this one had been rather mild.

That was, until Naga took it upon herself to put out what she saw as him on fire.

She shrieked, glomping him, the both of them tumbling to the ground as she hugged him tightly to put out the flames. "Master Zelgadis! You're on fire!!"

It wasn't truly the case, he was only slightly singed, and squashed under the taller woman. As Amelia peered at them, it was very clear that his face wasn't where he wanted it to be. There was very little doubt in Amelia's mind that the only heat that Naga was feeling was the heat of Zelgadis' blush.

"Um… Gracia…? He's not on fire… and… you're squashing him," Amelia began, and watched as her older sister let go and rolled off of the embarrassed Zelgadis. Naga stood up, looked over to him, saw the blush, and started to laugh.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! The great Naga the White Serpent is back."

Amelia shrank with a sigh. Her sister would never drop that, would she? _But then…_ Amelia thought. _I still run around with thoughts of love and justice in my heart… I guess it's just her way of doing the same…_

Ignoring both Naga's laugh and his own blush, Zelgadis sat up and regarded the skull pendant still in his hand. "It would seem that someone placed a curse on this pendant, Naga."

Amelia considered as Naga broke from her laughter to peer over at the tiny charm. "But who would do such a thing? To me? Who would dare?"

Amelia and Zelgadis both said it at the same time: "Xellos."

Lina was losing what little of her temper that remained. The servants claimed that they'd searched the outlying areas and they hadn't turned up the missing people. The redhead was about to take more drastic action when a door burst open and Zelgadis walked in, followed by Amelia and Naga… in normal clothing.

"Where have you been?" Lina began, but stopped when Zelgadis lobbed something to her, and she had to scramble to catch it. When she did so, and actually looked at it, she frowned. "What the…?"

"Naga's necklace. A curse was cast on it," Zelgadis said as he sat at the table across from her and picked up a cracker. "It cast the equivalent of a bram blazer after it absorbed whatever spell the wearer had cast."

Amelia paused, allowing Naga to move past her and claim the biggest plate of food for herself. The younger princess looked to Lina for a moment, then turned away to move to a chair without saying a word.

Lina shook her head slowly, examining the skull on levels that only she could see.

_Naga wasn't dead. She only seemed that way for the fraction of a moment that he needed. He stood beside her, unseen by either Amelia or her armsmen. "Now, then… let's keep you otherwise occupied, shall we? After all… it just wouldn't do to have you getting in my way…"_

_The Trickster Priest kneeled beside Naga, a purple glow at the tip of one finger. Eyes glowing darkly, he touched the glow to the tiny skull, watching the curse meld into the trinket. "There… that should keep you as quiet as a cat…" He stood, looking around himself for a moment, then fading from sight._

_Naga stirred slightly, and Amelia fell beside her sister, sobbing. Clerics rushed up to aid the, healing spells cascading over both princesses, the cursed necklace looking untouched and pristine…_

Lina stumbled, the tiny skull slipping from her fingers and falling onto the table, awareness clattering back with the sounds of concern from her friends. She shook her head slowly, realizing what she had seen was Xellos placing curse in Naga's necklace, and her eyes darkened. Her lips started to move, but no sounds came out.

Zelgadis leaned across the table to look at Lina. "Lina?"

Her voice started low, almost under her breath, and even Zelgadis had to strain to hear it at first. But as she went, she got louder. "Filthy, stinking rotten Mazoku. I knew that I should have killed him when I had the chance. I knew what he was capable of back then, even though I used it to our advantage whenever possible. I should have blasted his sorry ass back when he stole Galbeda from me."

"He did help us destroy Dark Star…" Amelia said quietly, looking at the untouched plate of food in front of her.

Lina turned furiously on Amelia, crimson eyes blazing. "Just exactly whose side are you on, Amelia?! Because if you're in love with him, or something like that, you'd damn well better tell me before I go find his miserable hide and make him pay for what he's done!"

Amelia backed down immediately, turning a violent shade of red. "Eh… no… I… don't love him…" Her eyes sparked, and she made a face, looking back up to Lina. "That's disgusting, Lina! How can you say that to me? You're so mean!"

Lina smirked. "Now that's the Amelia that I know. I'm going to kick his ass for this. Are you going to help?"

Amelia tapped the tips of two fingers together. "You really haven't changed… have you…?"

"Amelia… I…." She sighed. There wasn't really a lot that she could say to Amelia in the presence of everyone else. There was a good deal of reckoning to be done between the two, but Lina knew that keeping Amelia safe so that they could come to a reckoning was far more important than actually having one any time soon.

"So you can use magic now, Gracia?" Sylphiel asked softly, looking to the elder princess curiously.

Naga nodded. "Thanks to Zelgadis and Amelia… but that was my favorite necklace! And that disgusting creature ruined it!"

"I said I'd take care of him, Naga…" Lina reached into the velvet bag and pulled out one of her dragonsblood talismans. As she studied it, Zelgadis' quiet voice intruded on whatever thoughts she might be having.

"Are you going after him now? Without a plan and on what little energy reserves you have?"

She looked across the table to him, startlement taking the edge off of her anger.

"He's right, Lina. Xellos would defeat you in half a moment the way you are right now," Gourry added."He's a monster. And even though you've done some pretty incredible things… you're just a human."

Lina stared at the talisman in her hand again. "I just can't stand by and watch him do this… I don't care what he does to me. Just… just as long as he leaves my friends alone…" She swayed, suddenly realizing how tired she really was. She sat down carefully, tucking the talisman back into the bag and pulling a plate towards her.

She opened her eyes. She was lying down, and a strange weight was across her stomach. She turned her head and caught her breath in shock. Soft violet-blue hair spilled onto the pillow beside her, covering the face that she knew was beneath. His breath was slow and even, and she knew that he was sound asleep. She must have fallen asleep at the table. She'd never live that one down. Especially with Naga there to see it… but that didn't explain his presence. In her bed. With her.

She briefly considered beating the hell out of him for it.

But she looked back over to him, seeing the fine indigo-violet lashes of his closed eyes, and sighed softly. _He probably decided to stay there and make sure that Xellos didn't try to run off with me… and it's been such a long time since…_

A brilliant blue eye was open.

She blushed.

He realized that his arm was draped across her stomach and blushed deeper, moving his arm away very carefully. "I… er… I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

She thought for a moment, then picked a neutral reply. "Neither did I…"

He stayed there, looking at her, still blushing. She shook her head and looked to him. "Look, Zel… we're both adults… I mean…" She took a deep breath. "What I'm saying is…"

"Shh," He put his fingers to her lips.

She shook her head. "Zel… this is important…"

But he wasn't looking at her. The balcony door to her room was open, and she could vaguely see a shape on the other side of the curtain. Before she could react, Zelgadis had thrown himself over her, taking an incoming attack on his shoulder, and firing back a flare arrow that sent the intruder flying off for cover.

It was mostly over before she knew it, and she was left staring up at the somewhat comforting weight of Zelgadis, who was still staring out off over the balcony. "_That_ is what I'm doing in here…" He looked down and realized that they were in a most compromising position, and turned scarlet.

She wasn't annoyed, though she would have been once upon a time. He hadn't meant anything but to protect her from the intruder, and his lack of concern for himself had touched her. He'd only done something like that once before… though not with her. She'd all but written him off when he'd taken Garv's blow for Amelia. But he was here… and so clearly hers… She was staring, and he was sitting on the side of the bed now.

"Zel…?" She asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch his fingers with hers.

"Go to sleep, Lina. You're going to need your strength. I'm not going anywhere." He reached out and caressed her hair, his fingers trailing lightly down her cheek.

When she woke again, some hours later, he was again in the bed with an arm tossed casually over her. She considered him sleepily for a moment, then curled in a little closer and went back to sleep.


	9. Chapter Nine

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 9

Lina could hear voices outside the bedroom door. Her mind identified them as they whispered back and forth.

"Do you think we ought to wake them up…?" Sylphiel.

"You don't think he's really in there with her!" Amelia.

"Do you really think that he'd leave her in there, knowing that Xellos might come for her?" Gourry.

"Well, I say if he's in there with her, then let's let them stay in there!" Naga.

"You mean… he's in there… with her… and there's no-one else in there? Wow…" Jedah.

Lina finally registered a now-somewhat familiar weight across her stomach, and she opened an eye and looked over. Zelgadis was sound asleep beside her, a shy smile playing across his lips. She smiled herself, and slipped out from under his arm and got out of the bed, noticing that she was still dressed from the night before.

As she walked to the door, she heard Amelia whisper frantically. "Someone's coming!"

Lina opened the door, glowering at the guilty hoverers, closing the door behind her and stalking to the dining room, not looking behind to see if she was being followed.

In the dining room, she pulled back her unruly hair and bound it back with her hair-ribbon. Servants scurried to bring her something to eat, and one by one, her friends began to filter innocently into the hall. Someone set a plate in front of her, and she dug into it with a cheerful grin.

"You look entirely too happy" Naga said as she dropped into a chair beside Lina and swiped a sausage off of Lina's plate, taking a bite and watching the sorceress.

"Hey! No stealing my food! Jeez, Naga! Don't you ever quit? You live here, it's not like you have to pay for your food or anything!" Lina whined, moving her plate farther away from the elder princess of Saillune. She stuffed a mini muffin in her mouth and glared at the other woman.

"Lina, I have to ask. What went on between you and Zelgadis?"

Sylphiel and Gourry froze in the doorway and Jedah paused halfway into a chair to look up at the youngest princess in shock. Lina and Naga just simply turned and stared at Amelia.

Lina swallowed, picked up her glass and drank thoughtfully from it, setting it down casually and looking to Amelia. "Well, let's see…" She thought quickly, how best to play the moment for what it was worth. "I woke up sometime in the night and his arm was draped across me. He doesn't snore, by the way…" She had to look away from Amelia or she'd laugh at the princess' horrified expression. "And then he woke up and we talked for a little bit before he chased some sort of monster off and I went back to sleep after he told me that he wasn't about to leave me alone…" Lina considered a sausage. "And then I woke up again to find that he'd fallen asleep and thrown his arm over me again, but I figured that it wasn't such a big deal, so I went back to sleep."

Silence fell in the room.

Footsteps approached, breaking the silence, and a voice asked, "What did I miss?"

Everyone but Lina turned to see Zelgadis standing behind Amelia and the varying expressions made him instantly wary. Fortunately, Lina was willing to break the silence as she picked up her drink again.

"Oh, Amelia asked what happened between us last night, Zel. I told her."

Zelgadis faltered. "You… what…?" He wasn't sure who he was asking, Amelia for asking, or Lina for apparently telling.

Amelia looked to him, blue eyes wide and threatening to overflow with tears, looking for all the world like the past three years hadn't happened. "Mister Zelgadis! You're so chivalrous! And to think I was worried for Lina's virtue!"

Lina facefaulted, and Zelgadis looked at Amelia with a long slow blink. Keeping his face carefully blank, he turned around and headed for the door. "I'll be in the library."

He was halfway through the second book when footsteps behind him alerted him, and the seat beside him was quietly taken. Back straight, eyes downcast, and hands folded in her lap, Sylphiel Gabriev took a breath to compose herself before interrupting. "Master Zelgadis… please forgive me for asking such an… impolite question. But you do care for Miss Lina quite a bit, don't you?"

There was a long silence before he finally answered. "It's not an impolite question, Sylphiel. It's the question asked by a caring friend who worries about others." He closed the book and looked over to her. "It's taken me a long time to get used to the thought that I could actually be worth loving, Sylphiel. A very long time." He looked at his hand, the softly pink fingers.

"I may not be the one who should say this, but you weren't remotely as horrible as you thought you were…" She blushed faintly.

He shook his head slowly. "What… were you all infatuated with me?" He traced the letters on the cover of the book absently with a fingernail.

"No… only Amelia was infatuated with you. I think Miss Lina was in love with you for a long time, though. She and I talked once… and I asked her why she hung out with Gourry. She told me it was because he had the Sword of Light. And Gourry told me once that while he liked Lina a lot, it was more like she was the little sister that he never had."

Zelgadis sat quietly, listening and wondering why Sylphiel was telling him this. 

He'd all but professed his undying love to Lina… watched her turn away from it… and been drawn back to her like a moth to a flame, against all reason and rationale.

"What I'm trying to say is that I think you and Lina make a very well-matched couple. There is something special between you, and I'm not sure what it is." She rose from the bench and moved quietly to the door, closing it behind her.

He sat quietly, thinking through what Sylphiel had said. There was something, wasn't there? He'd tried to leave the city, tried to leave her, but every time he'd tried… and the night that he'd come to in the room with all of the candles. Just moments before, what had woken him… that dream that her tears had fallen on his cheek as she'd kissed him, that he'd reached out to her with a human hand. And when he had opened his eyes, his cheeks had been wet. And his skin had been pink.

He stood, setting the book on the shelf where it belonged. He understood a lot of things now, moreso than he had before. Rezo's knowledge came only with the slow understanding of the Stone Golem and the Mazoku. The golem gave him strength and invulnerability. But the Mazoku that he was gave him speed and power in addition to strength and invulnerability. He simply hadn't allowed himself to tap into that which the golem and the Mazoku gave him. He'd been so wrapped up in becoming human again that he'd completely overlooked the possibilities that lay before him.

Until the day that he'd fought with Xellos. Really fought with him.

_Sometime during the battle, the anger and rage had opened something in his mind, and the knowledge had come. The knowledge that he could do almost everything that Xellos could. Maybe it wouldn't be as powerful as Xellos' attacks, but it was bound to get the Mazoku's attention._

_He concentrated, taking into the air without the use of the Ray Wing. It was one less spell that he had to consider. Senses warned of an inbound attack, and a defensive barrier snapped into place just before impact. He felt distant, somewhat strange as attacks that he could not name rolled from his fingertips._

_Even Xellos was surprised. The chimera was becoming more and more interesting by the minute. He was starting to have to dodge attacks that could give him serious pause._

_There was a build-up, a spell coming to his hands that he couldn't begin to understand. It was dark in nature, a well into which his anger and rage poured itself. Xellos had chosen the wrong thing to goad Zelgadis with, and this spell was quickly taking on a life of its own, fueled by the pain that he'd tried to lock within himself._

_It left Zelgadis' hands, a purplish-black miasma that left Zelgadis unable to support himself in the air. As he began to fall, he saw the spell catch Xellos and smiled grimly at the Mazoku's screams. _So… he knows what pain is…__

He hit the ground, unaware that Amelia was running towards him in terror. He saw the Mazoku shudder once, and go limp, fading from his sight. Or was his sight fading? It didn't matter, not if he had beaten Xellos. He understood now, and as Amelia's tear-streaked face came into his vision, he lost consciousness.

"Zel…?" Lina's voice brought him out of the memory and into the present, where he was standing in the library of Sailune's palace. He turned to see her standing there, still dressed in black.

She walked up to him, looking at him worriedly. "I've called several times, but you just stood there, lost in your thoughts. Are you… okay?"

He nodded, offering her a shy smile. "I was just remembering some things. What thoughts have you given to how you plan to attack Xellos?"

Lina sighed. "I haven't really decided how I'm going to manage to get to wherever he goes. I think that we're going to have to wait until he shows himself here again."

A scream caught their attentions, and as they headed out of the library, Zelgadis remarked, "That may have been how long we had to wait."

The two entered a frozen tableau when they burst through the door of the great hall. Xellos was standing behind Amelia, his staff brought up around in front of Amelia, planted firmly under the princess' chin. Naga stood across the way, glaring at the Mazoku, hand out with a brilliant sphere of light in her hand. Jedah stood beside Naga with a dark glare in his eyes, but he didn't have a sword, and he didn't have any spells ready. Gourry had his sword in hand, even though it wasn't Golunova, and would do only minimal damage to the Mazoku. Sylphiel's face was a steady mask of concentration, and Lina gave about a second's worth of wondering what she was doing before glaring at Xellos.

"Xellos, let go of Amelia," Lina said quietly, walking towards the Mazoku and his captive. She felt a power build-up in the room, and she couldn't identify it. She hoped that it wasn't Xellos.

"I'm sorry, Lina. I just can't do that. She and I had an agreement. She's failed, and she knew the price of her failure." Xellos replied easily, eyes open and fixed on Lina. "And I don't think that you really want to do that, Gracia. I understand the last fireball that you threw put you in a clinic for a month."

Naga scowled at Xellos, borrowing a phrase from Lina. "Filthy Mazoku, get your hands off of my sister."

The grip on his staff tightened, and Amelia squeaked. "But my hands aren't on her, Gracia dear," Xellos sneered.

"Excuse me," a male voice came from behind Xellos and Amelia, a hand tapping the Mazoku on the shoulder. Lina frowned, recognizing the voice, but she couldn't decide how she knew it.

A man stepped around the Mazoku and his captive. "I'm sorry to disturb, but I was told that someone had ordered some food… and we were here to deliver it…"

Lina's eyes grew round when she realized that it was the bartender from that little bar she'd been in. "Arendil…?" she whispered.

The bartender half turned to smile to Lina. "Ah… hello." He turned back to Xellos. "Where should we put the food?"

Xellos looked annoyed. "No-one ordered food. Go away before I make you go away." He tightened his grip on his staff, bringing it up a little higher to Amelia's chin. The princess began to strain to catch her breath.

"But your pardon… I was told that you had ordered food…" Arendil continued. "There is to be a party here… right? The palace… and funeral service was to be today, with a wake…"

Lina couldn't figure out what was going on. A wake? Had someone ordered food? Before she could ask, Jedah stepped forward, eyes bright.

"Oh! Yes, the food for the wake… but there's no funeral anymore. I'm afraid that we forgot to cancel the order…" The youth said, walking casually up to the bartender who just happened to be near Xellos and Amelia.

Arendil looked to Jedah, concerned. "But all the food we prepared…"

"It won't go to waste. You'll be paid. We'll have a party instead…" Jedah said, turning to Xellos and Amelia, setting a hand firmly on Xellos' staff and looking at the princess. "Right, Amelia?"

The princess could only blink in confusion at Jedah. She could barely breathe, let alone reply to Jedah's innocent question.

_What is he doing? He's going to get killed!_ Lina thought frantically. _I have to do something, and I have to do it now! But I can't hurt Amelia… she'd never forgive me…_

But Xellos was only staring at Jedah. Then, to Lina's amazement, the staff at Amelia's throat began to be forced lower and lower. The expression of hatred on Xellos' face turned Lina's blood cold, but for some reason, the Mazoku didn't lash out at the boy.

Silence reigned in the room until seemingly easily, Jedah took the staff away from Xellos and reached out to Amelia with his free hand. "Come, let's show him where to put the food…"

No sooner had Jedah taken Amelia from Xellos, than a blast of magic swept past Lina and a black sphere crackling with blue smacked into Xellos. The Mazoku stepped back with a gasp, turning to glare past Lina. "Damn you, Zelgadis. I will win."

And then the Mazoku vanished.

Arendil looked to Jedah, who was still holding Xellos' staff and supporting a very weak Amelia. "Young man, you not only picked up on my ploy, but you are very lucky to have survived that."

Zelgadis walked past Lina and took the staff from Jedah. "He's always been lucky. Sometimes he presses that luck too much." He looked to Jedah, indicating Amelia. "Go take her to her rooms. Don't leave her there."

Naga's fireball faded without incident, and Gourry sheathed the blade. Sylphiel joined Jedah and Amelia, offering a healing spell, and they moved out of the room as Lina walked up to Arendil.

"I don't get it. Why are you here?" Lina asked as she approached.

"I was just delivering this message…" Arendil handed over a small envelope.

Perplexed, Lina opened it, then turned as white as a sheet. "Cepheid's blood! She knows…!"

And with that, she turned around and walked into the library. A sound much like books falling echoed out into the hallway, and Zelgadis looked to the library door. "It must have been a letter from her sister."


	10. Chapter Ten

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 10

Zelgadis stepped into the library and looked at the fallen books in dismay. Lina really had a penchant for overreacting when her sister was involved. Shaking his head, he picked an area and began to fish through the books for Lina.

He started to throw books here and there, but stopped when somehow all the books rose into the air. In abject surprise, he turned and saw Amelia standing in the doorway. Her expression concerned him, and he turned to see where Amelia's gaze was focused.

Lina's cloak was on the floor.

Lina wasn't.

She was vaguely aware that she wasn't under the oppressive weight of the books that she had knocked over in the library. In fact, as she slowly came back to awareness, she had a pretty good suspicion that she wasn't even in the library anymore.

She cracked open an eye and looked.

She certainly wasn't in the library.

Her other eye opened, and she scowled as she recognized the figure across the unfamiliar room.

He was dressed rather elegantly, his suit a deeper purple than his hair, a white shirt, and the cravat at his neck only a shade or two lighter than his hair. His eyes were open, a glass of wine at his lips as he looked off into the distance. If she didn't know that it was Xellos, she'd be impressed. As it was, she was only pissed.

She sat up, realizing that she had been lying on a smallish purple velvet couch… something Amelia had once called a 'loveseat.' The implications were disturbing, and she stood up rather abruptly. When she did, of course, his attention turned to her and he set the wine down, rising to his feet.

"Why Lina, how nice of you to join me. Would you care for some wine? It's Zefielian."

Lina glared at Xellos, crimson eyes narrowed. "I don't recall joining you willingly, Xellos. And no, I don't want wine. What I want is to go back to Saillune. Now."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Lina. You see, you're a guest here," Xellos replied, approaching, his eyes once again closed in his offhanded way of seeing without bothering to use his eyes.

Lina folded her arms. "Damn funny way of treating a guest, Xellos. I don't ever recall guests being held against their will where I grew up. We called them captives."

Xellos grinned as he walked up to her. "What a novel idea… a captive audience! Now then," his eyes opened with an intense violet stare. "I finally have you."

Lina snorted, not showing the unsettling ripple that shimmied down her back at his stare. "I hardly think so, Xellos. Just because I am here, held against my will, doesn't mean that I am yours."

Xellos reached out, his fingers caressing her cheek for a moment before she stepped back and raised a hand.

"Don't touch me again, Xellos."

The Mazoku leered at her. "Or what, Lina? You'll find that your magic has no effect here. You deal mainly in the black arts, with minor shamanism… and since you hardly have the same power as Garv, your magics will simply be absorbed by the ether that exists here."

Lina frowned, casting a fireball directly at him.

Nothing happened.

_Uhoh… he's right. I could be in some real serious trouble…_she thought.

A knowing grin formed on his face. "You see…?" He reached out to her.

"Damnit!" Zelgadis cursed.

They were standing in the Royal Hall, having left the servants to pick up the books in the library.

Amelia looked to the once-chimera who paced the hallway with Lina's cloak crumpled tightly in his hands. "We don't even know if he truly has taken her, Zelgadis… and I have no way to contact him, not that I really want to… he just always showed up…"

"Without her cloak… Lina doesn't have these talismans in her epaulets." Sylphiel pointed to the red orbs on the shoulders of the cloak. "That means that her magic won't be as strong, and she can't maintain that many spells without them. And since she doesn't have much in the field of white magics…" Sylphiel said quietly, not wanting or needing to finish the statement. They all knew that Lina would have a damnably hard time fighting off the Trickster Priest Mazoku.

"I wonder what this can do, Zel… do you think we could find him with his staff?" Jedah asked, contemplating the staff.

"I don't know. But if she's-!" Zelgadis came to a halt, turned and ran out of the door. Long used to following someone acting on a hunch, Amelia and Sylphiel followed, Amelia grabbing Jedah by the wrist and dragging him with her.

They followed Zelgadis into Lina's room,and Zelgadis started looking in various drawers. "Be wearing it, Lina… please be wearing it…"

"Wearing what, Zelgadis?" Amelia asked as she looked under the pillows for something she didn't even know. "What are you looking for?"

"The necklace… was she wearing it?" Zelgadis asked, fishing around in one of Lina's pouches. He pulled something white and flimsy out of a pouch, looked at it, and then hastily stuffed it back into the pouch with a funny look on his face.

"I think she was… I saw a gold chain at her neck," Naga said from the doorway, frowning at the chaos in Lina's room. "Do you always ransack her things like this? If she comes in here and sees you, you're all as good as dead."

"She's been taken by Xellos, Gracia…" Amelia said as she searched in another pouch. At least she knew that she was looking for a necklace now.

"Oh for goodness sake! I go to get Amelia a drink and the whole place falls apart!" Naga threw up her hands and shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I saw her wearing it when Jedah took Xellos' staff."

Zelgadis stopped searching and turned to face Naga. "Absolutely certain?"

Naga pondered. "No. But I'm pretty sure."

Amelia facefaulted.

Zelgadis sighed. "It's better than nothing, I suppose. Jedah, hand me the staff." He extended his hand for it.

"What are you going to do, Zel?" Jedah asked as he passed the staff over. "Can I help? Are we going to go kick some Mazoku tails?"

"No, Jedah." Zelgadis suppressed a sigh. _He's entirely too eager. Was I ever like that?_ He closed his eyes, dismissing the thought. With a surge of his own power, the blood-red sphere in the staff began to glow.

If she took another step backwards, she'd end up sitting on that loveseat, and she certainly didn't want to do that with Xellos anywhere near her. But he was uncomfortably close, and she felt a strange sort of warmth at her chest… as if… _No! I cannot possibly be attracted to this… thing!_

She reached up to that warmth, starting in astonishment as she felt it physically. A moment of trepidation passed before she realized that it was coming from the pendant that Zelgadis had given her. _The pendant! What is it doing?_

Xellos reached out to touch her again, but there was a brilliant blue flare, and he jerked back as if burned, eyes snapping to hers in surprise.

_It's Zelgadis! He's protecting me through the pendant! If that's the case, then there's a chance that I can get through this!_ A warmth spread through her, and suddenly she felt his awareness. It was just like when she had been caught in the spell of Rezo's, only this time, instead of her going to Zelgadis, she felt him there with her.

A blue hand reached over Xellos' shoulder, tearing the Mazoku away from Lina, and she gasped as she saw Zelgadis standing there in chimera form. But even more surprising was the fact that Xellos was clutching his shoulder and screaming.

Crystalline blue eyes turned to Lina, and the rough voice of what she now recognized as the Mazoku aspect grated on her ears. "Run."

Lina didn't need to be told twice, and she took off out of the room, throwing the door open explosively, and leaving the screaming Mazoku and the chimera-mazoku behind.

In Lina's room, the observers had no idea what it was that Zelgadis was doing, but they could tell that it was taking a vast amount of control that he had not previously exhibited. Did it have to do something with his human appearance now?

The staff flared brilliantly, power flowing into the bloodstone. Amelia watched in silent amazement as her once companion demonstrated powers that she couldn't begin to comprehend.

Sylphiel gasped as she watched Zelgadis. _He wasn't, he couldn't! Is this what Lina tried to tell me about the other night? Is this why she left?_

Anger filled him, and he felt the Mazoku side of him straining against the tight control he held against it. A moment of indecision came over him, and then with a firm conviction, he relinquished himself to the wave of power, releasing the Mazoku from internal confinement.

There was a brilliant flare of magic, and when vision cleared, both Zelgadis and the staff were gone.

Lina hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was lost. Worse yet, she was doubly lost, as she had absolutely no idea where she was to begin with. Stumbling along in darkened hallways gave her no illusions of being in control of the situation. In fact, she was all too aware that she was still at the mercy of the Mazoku.

It wasn't a situation that she enjoyed thinking about.

She turned down a darkened hallway, fingers trailing along the wall. The tactile confirmation of the wall's presence was somewhat reassuring, but she wasn't entirely certain what the wall was made of.

It didn't matter, as long as she could find a way out.

If she could find a way out.

Her lighting spells still weren't working, and she was as blind as she could get in this forsaken place, and if she got her hands on that damned Mazoku, she'd do her dead level best to kill him.

But how could she fight him in his own territory? Without any of her magics?

She continued to wander along the hallway, wondering what to do next.

Sylphiel, Amelia, Naga, and Jedah stood in the room and stared at the empty space where Zelgadis had been. Finally, Amelia ventured the question. "Where do you think he went?"

Naga shook her head in silence. She'd seen a lot of things in her adventures, but never a grown man vanish in a wave of power quite as strong as that one.

Jedah didn't need to think about it. "He's gone after Lina. She's in trouble, and he's gone to find that Xellos."

Sylphiel sighed. What she had sensed was dangerous indeed… and if he had gone off like that… there was no guarantee that he'd come back. She opened her mouth, but thought the better of saying anything until she'd thought it out a bit more.

As Sylphiel changed her mind, Amelia sighed. "He really loves her… we should help him… but how?" The younger princess asked.

A voice at he doorway caught the group's attention. "What happened?" Gourry had stuck his head in the room.

Sylphiel shook her head. "Zelgadis… disappeared."

Lina sighed and came to a stop. What could she hope to accomplish by wandering in the depths of a demented Mazoku's realm? Precisely what she was accomplishing: absolutely nothing. With fire in her eyes, she turned around and began to march herself right back towards the irritating Trickster Priest. She might not be able to destroy him, but she'd rather go down fighting than running. And besides... she wanted to know what Zelgadis was doing.

_ __What's wrong with me? Why did I run? I never panic... at least... I __didn't used to. I've got a bad feeling about all of this... and somehow I've got to figure it out before someone gets killed..._

She was lost enough in her thoughts that she almost walked by the figure without realizing it. But some base instinct took over, and she came to a cringing halt, turning in dread.

Luna Inverse was leaning quietly against the wall, arms folded, eyes hidden behind her bangs. When Lina started to stammer, Luna put out her hand and rested it on her cringing sister's shoulder. Lina held her breath, and somehow knew that under her hair, her older sister had opened her eyes. There was a sickening tug, and the world went even darker than before.

Gourry entered the room completely, looking around at the confusion and concern. "So Zelgadis just vanished...?"

Naga's reply was dry. "It sure seems that way... who is that?"

The waitress set her unconscious charge on the bed. Unseen eyes glanced at everyone, then she rested her hand on the hilt of her formidable sword that was incongruously placed at the waist of her waitress uniform. A very faint smile touched the light pink lips, and the figure vanished.

Gourry's voice broke the stunned silence. "Wow! That was the Cepheid Knight! That was Luna Inverse!" For once in his life, Gourry had no doubts that he was right. After all the tales that he'd managed to pry out of Lina over the years…

Amelia blinked. "That... Luna Inverse..." the last name suddenly clicked in Amelia's mind. "That was Lina's sister?!"

The figure on the bed suddenly balled up and began to shake uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, Luna! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to do it!" It was decidedly Lina's voice, and only Lina had that reaction to Luna Inverse.

Sylphiel walked to the bed, resting her hand on Lina and casting a healing spell. "Lina... it's okay... she only brought you back here... You're in your room." It was clear that somehow Sylphiel understood the inherent fear that Lina had for her sister. "She's gone now... what happened to you?"

Lina opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her room... and Sylphiel was there beside her. A reality check later, and she had to admit that Luna was nowhere to be sensed. Ever so slowly the anxiousness crept out of her, and she sat up to look at Amelia, Naga, Jedah, and Gourry standing in the room. "How did I get here...?"

Jedah bounced up to the bedside and looked at Lina with wide eyes. "The Cepheid Knight brought you! You are so incredibly lucky to have the Cepheid Knight as your sister!!!" There was no denying the awe and envy in his voice.

Lina stared at him. "Lucky?" Her voice took on a tinge of shrill. "You wanna tell me how growing up with _her_ makes me lucky?" She made to lunge at Jedah, but Sylphiel held Lina back. "Let me at him, Sylphiel, I'll show him how lucky I was... having the Cepheid Knight for a sister..."

Jedah prudently hid behind Gourry and peered around the blonde at the struggling redhead. "Does she always get like this?"

Gourry nodded sagely. "Every time anyone mentions her sister. One time she even buried herself over a simple note that her sister sent."

Naga lost her patience and rapped Lina on the head smartly. "Get over it, Lina. This isn't the time for this mess. Now Zelgadis is missing, and we have to find him."

Lina sat up, away from Sylphiel and looked at Naga, rubbing her head. "Zel's missing? How'd that happen?" She shook her head. "You didn't have to hit so hard, Naga..."

Sylphiel looked to the others for a moment, then sighed. "I felt a strange power from Zelgadis right before he vanished."

"The same power that he fought Xellos with that day..." Amelia said quietly. "He changed... somehow... became something else..."

Lina's blood ran cold. "Became something else...?" She echoed Amelia.

Amelia couldn't look at Lina. "It felt like he had turned into... into a Mazoku..."

The world was dark, but a voice was talking to him. It was Rezo's voice, he knew it without having to think it out. He felt the things that Rezo was talking about, felt the understanding washing over him. No, he was not a Mazoku. No, he was not a Human. He wasn't even a Golem. And yet... he was all of them. Chimera. Construct. He hated it.

He'd been learning to live with it... slowly, painfully. But he was learning. Wasn't he?

He opened his eyes to a strangely quiet sky. Stars shimmered in the sky, and the sounds of water lapping at shore caught his attention. Where was he? How had he gotten here? He sat up, Xellos' staff across his lap, and looked out across the water. Casting a glance up to the sky, the stars weren't in any clearly recognizable patterns.

But there was someone nearby, and he turned to look and see who it was.

Grabbing the staff, he leapt to his feet and glared. "Xellos. What have you done with Lina?"

The Mazoku slipped off of his perch and turned to Zelgadis. "That is a secret."

The dragons' blood talisman in the staff burst into life. "I asked you a question. Answer it," Zelgadis snarled.

Xellos opened his eyes to look at Zelgadis, and there was no emotion within them, no hint of the annoying personality. "She isn't here anymore. Go back to the Palace." He lifted a gloved hand, and Zelgadis felt magic building up around him.

"What do you mean she isn't here anymore, Xellos? Answer me for once!" The staff was being pulled away from him.

"She simply isn't. The Cepheid Knight took her away." Xellos' voice was deathly quiet. "Go away, Zelgadis. Let me die in peace."

It hit Zelgadis with a wave, both the shock at Xellos' words, and the spell that was sending him away from here.

_Die?_

_ __Xellos?_

_ __What __the hell __happened?_

_ _


	11. Chapter Eleven

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 11

"So where are we going now, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked as they wandered down a dusty road with no true fixed destination. The trees were full, leaves green and the day nice, bright, and cheerful. It was just the kind of day that Amelia loved. The only thing that could make it completely perfect was if two of her companions would stop sulking and admit that they liked each other. Honestly, it was just like Lina and Zelgadis to ruin a perfectly good day...

Lina shrugged as she walked. "We'll just see where this road takes us, Amelia. I mean, it's not like we have a pressing schedule or anything, and I'd like to be able to have a little downtime. Shigai no Ishii was not anything I care to repeat anytime soon."

Amelia suppressed a shudder. It had taken everything within her to build up the force of will that was necessary to go down into that cursed place to begin with... but then to find that Lina and Zelgadis were in trouble... She'd feared the worst when she'd seen that black miasma in the room, and that fear had granted her the strength to overcome herself and cast the spell.

And it had worked. Amelia had been the one to save the day. It had felt pretty darned good.

But this wasn't good. The princess of Sailune cast a covert glance over to Zelgadis and noted him walking along with his hood drawn up over his face, head tilted down. He was upset, she could tell. And she was willing to bet her entire spellbook that it had to do something with that slap. Though why Lina had slapped him after he'd kissed her was completely beyond Amelia. If he'd so much as tried to kiss Amelia... well, she'd probably have fainted from delirious delight. Amelia frowned to herself and wrenched her thoughts away from that path. Zelgadis wasn't hers, she shouldn't think like that. She should be trying to make Lina and Zelgadis see that they were meant for each other, no matter what Lina thought. Love and justice and triumph all went hand in hand… right?

Amelia looked up to Lina, saw the stiffness in the shoulders, the way the sorceress was holding her head._ She's still mad... Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut for now..._

"Say it, Amelia." 

Startled by Lina's voice, Amelia blinked and came to a halt. "Say what, Miss Lina?"

Lina turned around and walked back to the girl. "Say that you think I'm making a big mistake here. Go ahead and tell me how stupid I'm being." There was a strange light in Lina's eyes, a light that Amelia didn't know how to interpret.

"Um... I don't know, Miss Lina... you really shouldn't rush into relationships..." Amelia hedged, trying to figure out what Lina was after. No clues were forthcoming from the sorceress, so the princess simply let her words trail off into the trees.

"Do what you want to do, Lina," Gourry said as he walked up behind Amelia. "What does it matter if it's a spell? If the feelings are real, maybe it took a spell to reveal them."

Lina's gaze shifted over Amelia's shoulder to the blue-eyed blonde, and Amelia noticed that Zelgadis hadn't stopped walking. He would leave them all behind shortly.

"You're insufferable, both of you," Lina said, rolling her eyes and turning around and walking off, following the path, and consequently, Zelgadis.

As the group continued along the path, Amelia had an idea. "Miss Lina... let's go to Sailune. It's been a while since I've been home... and I'm sure that Daddy would like to see all of us again."

Lina shrugged, not looking back. "Sure, Amelia. Why not?"

Days later, Lina learned why not.

There was to be a ball, a gala unlike any that had been planned within Sailune before. Amelia had invited anyone who was anyone, including Lina, Zelgadis, Gourry, and Sylphiel (who just happened to be furthering her white magic training within the city.) Gourry had immediately asked Sylphiel to accompany him, which didn't bother Lina. What bothered Lina was that Amelia would be unable to have an escort, due to her status within the city... and that left Lina paired with Zelgadis.

It was a shrewd move by the innocent-looking princess indeed.

Lina was considering leaving. There was no way that she'd be forced to stick around for a night of fluff and propriety, especially with the tense situation between herself and Zelgadis. She'd rather be out blasting bandits and teaching the bad guys who Lina Inverse really was.

She'd even settle for a knock-down drag-out fight with Naga, like in the good old days.

But no, here she was, stuck in a room in the palace, with several servants smiling expectantly while producing gown after gown, each with what must have been enough lace to stretch from Sailune to Zefilia and back three times. With an exasperated sigh, Lina looked at a servant. "Don't you have anything with less lace?"

The girl hesitated, then from the bottom of the pile of lace and satin, pulled a green velvet gown that amazingly had no lace at all. Without truly looking at it, Lina grabbed it and shooed the girls out. "Fine. This will do. Now go away."

The girls bundled up armfuls of gowns and vanished through the door. Sitting on the bed with a sigh of relief, Lina looked to the gown.

It was a deep hunter green velvet with a gold trim around the off-shoulder bodice. Fine gold threads laced the front and up the length of both sleeves, accented by the gold belt that hung low across the waist, obviously more decoration than actual belt. She blinked. It was actually quite lovely. She liked it. Probably more than she ought to.

Shaking her head, Lina set it aside on the bed and walked over to the balcony and looked out. She was a fool. She really ought to just go off and stop subjecting them all to her mood swings. At least... until she'd gotten this figured out. She had to work out why she was afraid of things between herself and Zelgadis.

The door opened and Amelia bounced brightly into the room. Lina sighed._ Great... just what I need now. Amelia._

The princess moved over to the dress and picked it up and looked to Lina. "You'll wear this for the ball, right Miss Lina?"

Lina sighed, hoping that this visit wouldn't take long. "...I suppose, Amelia."

"Miss Lina, are you okay? You've seemed... distant..." Amelia put the dress down and looked to Lina, eyes expressive. They almost begged Lina to talk to her, to confide what was wrong.

"I'm fine, Amelia. Really. Now let me get ready..." Lina said quietly, shaking her head, shooing the princess out of the room. She turned and looked at the dress, picking it up. _No... I can't stay... I can't do this... Not to him._

Dress crushed in her hands, she lifted into the air and flew through the open balcony doors and vanished into the night. 

For a week, Lina did nothing but blast bandits, eat, and sleep. Lina loved it. The days were a blur of fireballs and treasure, and lots of screaming bandits. She was footloose and on a warpath of her own choosing. The nights were silent and generally in a hotel that had a worthy restaurant.

But one night she hadn't been near a hotel. So she'd made camp in a clearing, and woke in the middle of the night, annoyed. "Damnit, Zel… I told you not to take watch all night. You were supposed to wake… me…" Her voice trailed off as she crashed headlong into the reality that she was traveling alone.

She drew her knees up close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. _What are you going to do, Lina? You've been at this for a week… Are you going to go back? Saillune isn't that far away…_

She took a deep breath. _Only a week. And I haven't been exactly hiding out here. Anyone halfway looking would find me… which means that he isn't looking. Maybe the spell broke. Maybe if I'm out of sight… I'm out of mind. Maybe…_

She closed her eyes. _But how can I forget…?_

She couldn't then.

And three years later, she still couldn't.

Lina sat there on the bed with everyone looking at her, lost in the memory until Naga reached out and knocked her on the head again. Amelia looked to her sister with chagrin. "Naga… you shouldn't hit her like that."

Lina shook her head. "Naga's right, Amelia. And I hate it. I've been trying to go over it in my mind… trying to figure it all out. It doesn't make any sense. Why is Xellos so dead-set to get me and kill Zelgadis? There's a part of the story that I'm missing here, and I don't like it."

Gourry thought it over. "Gosh, I thought that it was just a simple matter of you two finally admitting that you liked each other." He scratched his chin. "But now that you mention it, Xellos is acting more like a Mazoku and less like the annoyance we know."

Lina rolled her eyes. "That's what you get for thinking, Gourry. But putting Xellos aside… we have to find Zelgadis… and I think I have a fairly good tool for starting that search." She reached up to her throat, tugging lightly at a golden chain, pulling a pendant out from under her shirt. A glistening aquamarine fairly glowed with powers yet unexplored, and Sylphiel's eyes widened.

"Was that… part of…?" Sylphiel couldn't finish the thought. Surely it couldn't be…

"I think so, Sylphiel. I haven't had time to figure it out… but I get the feeling that he meant for me to be able to find him anywhere with this. And it's time to put that to the test." Lina closed her hand over the pendant and then closed her eyes, power building up around her and focusing on the pendant in her hand.

"You who sail the seas of the astral plane, reveal these shadows to me!"

Before her eyes, the pendant glowed and an image came to her. She could see him standing there in a darkened room, looking around in confusion. As she watched, she recognized the room with surprise. Looking away from the pendant, she focused her gaze back to the world as it was, and turned to Amelia. "He's here… in his room… I don't know how… but he is."

She let the spell fall apart, slipping off of the bed and running out of her room and down the hall, everyone following her.

His bedroom door opened, and Lina skidded to a halt as Zelgadis stepped out of the room with what turned from confusion to relief. It was only natural that he grabbed her into a hug, wasn't it?

"You're safe!" He exclaimed as he hugged her to him.  
"What happened?" Lina asked as she allowed the warmth to touch her for a moment. _Damnit… I love him…_

The others hung back slightly, but only for as long as the two hugged. The minute Lina squirmed and Zelgadis released her, the others came up and started to ask questions all at once.

Zelgadis ignored the questions and looked at Lina. "What happened? What did you do to Xellos?"

Lina blinked at Zelgadis, only partially noting the silence that descended. "I didn't do anything. Luna was there… but she didn't do anything that I know of… just brought me here… why?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "Somehow I ended up on an unfamiliar shore… and Xellos was there. Only, there was something wrong. He told me to go away and let him die."

"Die?" Everyone echoed.

"Die." Zelgadis confirmed.

Lina blinked, looking off into the distance and thinking it out. "But… he's a Mazoku… the General-Priest of Zelas Metallium. I can't think why she'd let him die…"

"Nor can I," Zelgadis admitted. "I never expected that to be an option. Not even Garv did enough damage to him and half of him was blown away…"

Lina lifted her chin, a hard edge glinting in her eyes. "We can't just let him die."

"Why not?" Naga asked with annoyance. "After what he's done to Amelia…"

"But, Lina… I thought…" Amelia started.

Lina put up a hand. "Look… I know what he's done. But if he dies… Zelas Metallium is likely to replace him with someone else." She looked at everyone in the group. "And let's face it. Xellos is a known quantity. He's annoying and irritating… and sometimes the best lead we get on things. Who says his replacement will be half as useful?"

It started to dawn on Zelgadis, and he began to shake his head. "I can't believe that you'd ever be defending Xellos."

Lina sighed. "Zel… he's saved my life several times. He helped us defeat Dark Star. I can't just walk away and let him… die. We have to go to Wolf Pack Island."

"How are you going to get there, Lina? No human has ever been able to chart the island. It's only a rumor that it's somewhere to the south…" Naga said, folding her arms.

Lina smiled faintly. "There's a spell that Filia taught me without meaning to. And being that Zelas Metallium's inherent power is black magic, it makes it easier for me." The dragonsblood talismans flared brightly and Lina closed her eyes.

A wash of power rippled out from her, and with that ripple, the world around them all began to change. Each ripple brought on a new detail, the walls were becoming trees, the carpet becoming grass…

There was a swirling dizziness, and when the group looked around, they were standing on a quiet shore, water gently lapping at the thin strip of sand. Lina crumpled, and Zelgadis caught her as he recognized the place. "This is where I was before… Lina?" 

The sorceress collected herself and shakily looked around. "I'm okay, Zel… well… it looks like we got here…"

Naga looked around herself, wrinkling her nose. Amelia walked up to the line of trees and peered into the depths of the forest. Sylphiel watched Lina, Gourry standing beside the beside the cleric, looking on in mild confusion. Jedah bounced around eagerly. "Wow! You really did it! We're here!"

Lina nodded slowly. "Yes, but keep it down. We don't want to attract the attentions of every Mazoku living in this island…"

"It's too late for that, Lina," Zelgadis pointed to Amelia, who was backing away from the trees, a large white wolf following the princess.

As they all bunched together, Zelgadis stuffed Jedah behind him and drew his sword. Gourry likewise planted himself beside Zelgadis, sword drawn.

The wolf flicked its ears, padding back and forth before the little group, as if sizing them up.

"What are we going to do, Lina?" Amelia asked nervously.

Lina looked bleakly at the wolf. "We wait."


	12. Chapter Twelve

Perchance to Dream

Forgive the formatting, they're starting to screen out some of the parameters that Word inserts into the html and I'm too lazy to change the coding!! –'Veshka

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 12

The wolf was not a wolf as far as lupines go. Indeed, the wolf was the Greater Beast herself… but there was no sense in telling any of them that. At least, not right yet. She simply paced back and forth before the little group, waiting to see what would happen.

Lina pushed past Zelgadis and Gourry, walking slowly and carefully up to the creature and kneeled to bring herself closer to eye level with the wolf, resting her hands across her knee. She knew that she'd probably be injured badly if it decided to leap at her and attack, but she had to take the chance.

"I am Lina Inverse. I'm here to seek audience with the Greater Beast Zelas Metallium," she said quietly, watching the wolf.

The wolf approached Lina, and the men gripped their swords tighter. There was an unspoken understanding between Swordsman and Shaman. If the wolf leapt, it wasn't to land on Lina alive.

But the wolf simply sniffed one of her hands, then turned and moved towards the line of trees from where it came.

Lina rose, glancing back towards the others and followed the wolf. But when the others began to follow as well, the wolf growled a low warning in her throat. Alarmed, Lina looked back to the group. "I… I think I'm to follow alone."

There was an affirmative whuff from the wolf, and Zelgadis' eyes narrowed. "I don't like this, Lina."

Lina sighed, shaking her head. "It's not for us to like, Zel. But if I hope to have a chance, we have to play by the rules given. Remember, we're only here as long as we're tolerated. The Greater Beast is powerful enough to destroy us with a simple thought."

The wolf waited silently by the entrance to the woods, watching. This was the first test to see if they were worth the effort.

Zelgadis sheathed his sword. "One sign of trouble, Lina. One little sign and nothing will keep me out of there. I'll take the whole island apart if I have to."

Lina smiled faintly. "I don't doubt it, Zel. Let's just hope that it doesn't come to that."

She didn't say goodbye… she'd learned a long time ago that the word goodbye was all too often the very last word offered. So instead, she smiled quickly, then ducked into the forest behind the wolf.

Amelia shivered violently, looking after Lina. "I have a strange feeling about this. What do we do now?"

"The only thing we can do, under the circumstances. We stay here, stay out of trouble, and wait," Zelgadis replied.

Lina followed the wolf through the forest, occasionally having to duck under a tree branch or pick her way through a briar-bush. She was becoming more and more positive that the wolf was deliberately picking a harder path in order to test Lina, but she knew better than to say anything about it. She'd walked through worse, and complaining would only lower her ultimate overall impression.

About twenty minutes into following the wolf, a thought occurred to her, and she looked to the wolf. "I get it. I'm following you."

The wolf stopped and turned to look at her, a strange intelligence shining in the lupine eyes.

"You're the Greater Beast. You're Zelas Metallium," Lina said quietly, studying the wolf.

No sooner had Lina said it, the wolf shifted, a swirl of power transforming the wolf into a tall well-tanned blonde woman with a white slip-dress and heavy gold bracelets. Eyes that held the secrets of the Mazoku turned to the sorceress, and a hand lifted a cigarette to perfectly shaped lips. "Do you know how hard it is to smoke in wolf-form?"

Lina blinked, that hardly being the first thing she expected from the Greater Beast. "Close to impossible, I'd imagine," she ventured.

The blonde nodded, exhaling a puff of smoke. "So… Lina Inverse… what is it that you want?"

_Woah… straight to the point… Well, I guess there's no beating around the bush with her…_ Lina thought. "I came to ask why Xellos is dying."

"Why does it matter to you?" Zelas asked, bringing the cigarette back to her lips.

Lina sighed. "There are a great number of reasons. Yeah, sure, picking on Amelia was pretty low, even for him… and kidnapping me wasn't one of his brighter moves… but as strange as it may seem, I've come to think of him as one of my friends. And I'm kind of protective about my friends." She looked to Zelas quietly. "And my life would be a lot more boring without him around."

"If you must know, it was the Cepheid Knight who insisted. She wasn't pleased with his actions, and came to me to discuss it," Zelas' words were punctuated by the smoke.

Lina stepped backwards. "My sister…? Luna? But how…"

Zelas waved indifferently. "We have dinner once a week and play gin rummy. She mentioned it in passing."

Lina fell over. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had a vision of Luna and Zelas sitting at a table playing rummy. It was just enough to seriously play with her mind. Collecting herself and standing back up, she looked to Zelas incredulously. "So you're telling me that you're getting rid of Xellos because my sister mentioned it over a card game?"

"Of course. Luna and I are friends… and she's so hard to calm down when upset." Zelas failed to see the problem.

Lina put her hand to her forehead. "Unbelievable… Just," she looked to Zelas, letting her hand fall. "Don't kill him, please?"

Zelas looked to the small redheaded human. "A human asks clemency for a Mazoku? Moreover, you, his target, asks?"

Lina shrugged. "Call me a pushover. In a weird sort of way, it's kind of flattering that I have the attentions of your General-Priest."

Zelas smiled faintly, nodding to Lina. "I'm certain that I can make Luna understand. Very well, Lina Inverse. Your request is granted."

Lina blinked in surprise for what must have been the hundredth time. "That easy? You're going to let Xellos live and stand up to my sister that easily?"

Zelas Metallium smiled at Lina, and the sorceress felt a chill run down her back. "Your sister isn't the monster, Lina. I am."

Lina shuddered at the thought, and suddenly found herself standing in the hallway of the royal palace of Saillune with everyone else beside her. The entire group looked around, confused. Zelgadis was the first to recover and turn to Lina. "What happened, Lina?"

Lina sighed, leaning against the wall. "She said that she'd let Xellos live… and then we were all standing here. My guess is that we'll have a visit from the ungrateful Mazoku shortly. Now if you don't mind, it's been a long day and I'm going to take a nap before anything else happens."

As Lina turned and walked down the hall, everyone else looked to each other, silently concerned. Zelgadis moved to follow Lina, but Sylphiel touched him on the arm and he turned to look to her.

"You've done a lot more than you usually do… You ought to go rest as well. Let one of us keep an eye on Lina this time," Sylphiel said quietly.

For a moment, he considered arguing the point. But the more he thought, the more he realized that she was right. With a sigh, he looked down towards Lina's room, but shook his head. "Fine, but who will watch her?"

Naga lifted her hand. "I'll go. It's been a long time since I've seen her. If she can't sleep, at least we will be able to catch up."

Zelgadis looked at Naga. "You can't possibly fight off Xellos."

"Maybe not," Naga admitted, having learned that the 'I can do anything' attitude didn't work with Zelgadis. "But I can scream loud enough for you all to hear."

Amelia blanched, recalling some of her sister's ear-splitting laughs. "She's not kidding about that, Zelgadis. When Gracia wants to be heard…"

Naga stuck her tongue out at Amelia and flipped the corner of her cloak as she walked past the group and on to Lina's room.

_Well… at least she's sticking to the shirt and pants…_ Amelia thought as she watched Naga slip into Lina's room.

Before anyone could go anywhere else, the door to Lina's room came flying open and Naga tumbled out into the hall. Lina's voice could be heard quite clearly, even halfway down the hall. "I can take care of myself, damnit!" The door slammed shut, and the lock was thrown.

Naga sat up and looked at the door. "I'll just sit out here, Lina. Holler if you need anything."

Zelgadis sighed and turned away, heading for his room. He was pretty sure that Lina wouldn't have tossed him out… but Sylphiel was right. Giving control to the Mazoku aspect did wear him out more than he'd like to admit.

The scene was familiar, the burned-out city that was the aftermath of the time that Rezo-Shabranigdo had controlled him. He stood, looking out over the destruction, the Mazoku aspect there beside him. He began to talk, unsure if he was talking to himself, or the Mazoku. "This is the final barrier. The one issue that I haven't come to terms with. I did this… and yet… I didn't. Dancing like a puppet on a string, I wrought all this destruction. The very nature of Mazoku conflicts with my own. Loveless beings who only wish destruction."

"I love," the Mazoku aspect grated. "Mazoku love. Not as humans do."

He looked to the Mazoku, head tilted. "You are the source of my emotions… I don't understand you. I don't understand half of this. Why do I look like this? Why am I at peace with the golem and human aspects, but not with you?"

"When you cast a spell, you draw on the Mazoku's powers, Zelgadis. He is you, although you want so badly to keep him separate that within your mind, he takes his own shape. You look human because as part Mazoku, you have the ability to change your appearance," came a voice from behind him.

Zelgadis turned, seeing a memory of Rezo. "What do you mean?"

"You accept him without accepting him. You walk a dangerous line, for to keep that part of yourself separate invites a time when you will not be able to control it and return. The prospect of losing control makes you keep yourself separate… but if you aren't careful, you could lose yourself to the Mazoku completely."

Zelgadis sat up in his bed, drenched in sweat. He looked over to the windows and saw that the sun was setting and evening was fast approaching. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Perchance to Dream

Forgive the formatting, they're starting to screen out some of the parameters that Word inserts into the html and I'm too lazy to change the coding!! –'Veshka

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 13

Lips the color of the palest amethyst curved into a smile. Well, well. That had gone easily. And she hadn't suspected a thing. It made things so much… more enjoyable. Of course, She probably wouldn't take well to having been impersonated… but what his mistress didn't know wouldn't kill him.

One by one the pieces of his game were falling into place. The time was coming. And by then, not even that damned chimera would stand a chance. There would be nothing that anyone could do.

Yes… it was all starting to come together. But the precise what of it was, of course, a secret.

The garden was quiet, only a few night-time creatures scurrying here and there as Lina and Zelgadis made their way to the back of the garden and the bench by the waterfall. It was peaceful, and the silence from her companion allowed Lina's imagination to consider any number of reasons why Zelgadis would have asked her to come out here with him.

But, of course, he wasn't talking at the moment, and she could only wonder what he wanted her out here for. _Unless… no, he couldn't! He wouldn't!_

Lina's eyes widened as her highly overactive imagination went into full swing. _No way! He's not that kind of guy! I mean… well… even when he was asleep… he didn't try anything…_ She started to slow down, falling several paces behind him as she thought.

They walked along in that fashion for a while before he noticed that she had slowed and fallen behind. She was preoccupied, he could tell.

He stopped at the bench, head tilted down in thought, and he turned to look at her. "Lina. There's something that we need to talk about."

She came to a halt, looking up at him from her thoughts, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "Okay…"

With an open hand, he indicated the bench. "Would you like to sit, Lina?" He could tell that she was uncertain about something, and decided that it was probably her worrying about the next visit from Xellos.

She shook her head. "No… I'm okay. What is it… you wanted to talk to me about?" She could tell that her uneasiness was making him uneasy. _I'm awful at personal things!_

He looked off over the water, not unlike Lina had been when she had been confronted by Jedah. "It was too easy, Lina."

Lina blinked in confusion. "What was too easy, Zel?"

"Going to Wolf Pack Island and talking the Greater Beast into releasing Xellos from death. There's something incredibly wrong with that, but I can't put my finger on it." Zelgadis replied.

Lina almost fell over in relief. _I don't think I've ever been so happy to be wrong!_ She thought. Out loud, she mused. "Now that you mention it… it did seem fairly strange. I mean… the thought of my sister playing card games with anyone…"

"Is just as strange as thinking that the Greater Beast would rescind something as serious as the death of her most powerful Mazoku without a fight. Or, stranger yet, that she would be convinced to destroy him to begin with." Zelgadis replied.

"Unless he'd done something that he shouldn't have…" Lina said quietly. "Like harming you?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "I'm not half as important as you are, Lina. I haven't been touched by the Lord of Nightmares and lived to tell of the experience."

Lina fiddled with the necklace at her throat. "I… I still don't know why I did. But maybe this has more of something to do with you? I mean… Sylphiel and Amelia both said that it felt like you turned into a Mazoku when you went to rescue me…"

He stiffened at her words. Afraid that she'd gone too far, she moved to him and put her arms around him, resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder. His hand covered hers, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Rezo told me that if I didn't accept the Mazoku aspect of myself… there could very well become a time when I would lose control over it and be swallowed whole."

"Like what happened with Rezo and Shabanigdo…?" Lina wondered.

"Perhaps," Zelgadis acknowledged. "And I am not sure what upsets me the most. The fact that I have to somehow reconcile the differences between myself and the Mazoku… or the fact that I could become a Mazoku."

Lina considered, her mind working the puzzle, trying to put the pieces together. "Zel…" She let go of him, tugging on his arm lightly to turn him to face her. "What if that's exactly what Xellos wants? If you become a Mazoku… then you're subject to the Greater Beast."

Lina started to pace, her cloak swirling around her ankles, Zelgadis watching her as she mentally put the puzzle together. "Even worse, you'd be a Lesser Mazoku, and subject to Xellos' whim. And with you subject to him… it would mean that you couldn't protect me!" Fury broke across her eyes as she came to a halt and some twisted hand of fate caused her cloak to flare out in a breeze at that precise moment. "That pervert!"

Lina's connection of events stunned Zelgadis into silence. But as a Mazoku… he had little trouble defending from Xellos. Except that he wasn't a full Mazoku either of those times, was he? And as a full Mazoku, Amelia and Sylphiel would be forced to defeat him… and that would neatly remove Zelgadis from the picture. Even as the thoughts occurred, he could sense the danger they both were in. "Lina… I have to do this once and for all."

Lina looked at him, saw the determination etched into his eyes. "Do what…? Zel?"

He kissed her on the cheek lightly, startling her into silence. "No matter what happens, Lina. Remember." His lips moved against her ear in an almost silent phrase, and then he vanished before her eyes.

Lina came to a halt in the main hall. Several servants looked up as she looked around the room and then took off at a dead run towards the stairs that led up to the hall where all the bedrooms were. _Where did he go…? He can't do it alone…I have to get everyone. We have to find him._

It was a silent room, old and undisturbed, protective wards intact from a time before. He'd been drawn to it, and knew that this was the place where he would find the peace and quiet to understand the Mazoku aspect of himself once and for all.

He sat in the chair facing the dust-shrouded mirror and looked into the strange reflection for a moment before closing his eyes.

The Mazoku was waiting where he always was, staring out over the ruins of the devastated town. Only this time, the flames were out and the stone street cold. It was nighttime, and the only light was from the light spell that Zelgadis cast so that he could see his way to where the Mazoku waited for him.

"He cannot be allowed to control us," the Mazoku grated as Zelgadis approached. "To control us is to give her to him."

Zelgadis sighed. "Yes. He counts on our opposing natures to keep us apart." He turned to look over the town and the remnants of the buildings destroyed his own hands.

"We are not so different," the Mazoku commented. Zelgadis was frequently a man of little words, but the Mazoku before him had even fewer words to offer. There weren't many needed.

"Perhaps not," Zelgadis admitted after a lengthy silence. "But everything I have been taught…"

_Was taught to you by Rezo and Shabranigdo. Would the Dark Lord not want us apart so that the day could come for him to control us as he did Rezo?_

Shock ran through Zelgadis as he looked to the Mazoku who had spoken without words. Worse yet, the words felt true. "Manipulated as a child to prevent the adult…"

The Mazoku nodded, silent now.

"Then what now? If what I have been taught is wrong, what is your nature? How can you be a Mazoku if you don't feed on hatred and pain?" Zelgadis asked the Mazoku before him.

"Put out your hand. You must trust me," the Mazoku replied.

Warily, Zelgadis put out his hand.

The sensation was not unlike flying, and for a moment, Zelgadis' mind spun in trying to grasp what was happening. Then, he saw memories, scenes from his life when he had taken actions that even he himself hadn't been able to understand at the time. He'd just… done it.

He had the rapid healing a Mazoku had… if anything had managed to break his stone skin… he would have lived. The damage from poison he had taken so long ago had been undone by the regenerative powers of the Mazoku.

The attack was for Amelia. He had no second thoughts as he leapt between Garv and Amelia. And he'd survived. He'd been horribly injured… Milgazia was healing him. But the power that kept him alive for Milgazia to do so... That was the Mazoku.

The power that he had drawn upon when fighting Dark Star… that which illuminated the Weapon held in his hands… without knowing it, he had called upon the Mazoku to lend him strength.

The time that he'd thrown Lina away from him in the battle with Rezo. That had been the Mazoku's speed when he'd run. (He conveniently ignored the fact that he'd actually thrown her into the tree.)

Every time he'd cast the Astral Vine on his sword…

That power which saved him from annihilation in Shigai no Ishii.

The power that he'd used against Xellos… he'd known that was the Mazoku. But that which had kept him alive afterwards… what allowed him to open his eyes in the Royal Palace… that had been the Mazoku.

The very fact that he looked human now.

Aquamarine eyes blinked, looking into the quietly burning eyes of the Mazoku. But there was one thing left to show, one irrefutable fact:

The Mazoku was the source of the overwhelming current of emotions that ran within him, those that linked him to his friends and to Lina. The heart of those emotions was the inherent fire within the figure before him. No… the Mazoku was not evil. Not in the finite and precise definition of 'evil'. In a broader sense, perhaps he was. But inasmuch as love could be a dual-edged sword… so too, was the Mazoku.

There would always be light near darkness… for without one, there could not be the other. Without Light, there could be no Darkness. Without Darkness, there was nothing to distinguish Light from anything else. More precisely, there would be Nothing.

It was the basic premise of Life.

Good and Evil, Evil and Good. That tenuous balance that existed between them.

He had to be both… or Nothing at all.

He had to choose.

And it had to be Now.

It had been entirely too easy to find him here in this forgotten place. The trail that he had left as he moved was like a beacon for all to follow. The wards of the room were pathetic, cast long ago by someone with weak control. At least, to a full Mazoku like Xellos they were. The victory would not be as he had intended, but it would be his victory ultimately. He paused a moment to savor the moment, to gloat over the fact that he'd finally win against Zelgadis. The staff leveled towards the unaware figure in the chair, talisman beginning to glow. 

One… simple… bolt…

How he looked forward to the pain that would be in Lina's face when he got to tell her that her beloved Zelgadis had failed and was now dead. Dead in the very same room that Amelia's mother had died in.

He smiled darkly as the talisman built up full power. _Goodbye, Zelgadis. It's a pity that you didn't want to join forces with me._

Lina's hands were cupped around the stone in her necklace as she and the others followed the magical 'trail' that traced Zelgadis' movements. He'd woven a path for them, headed into the old and abandoned part of the Palace, much to Amelia and Naga's discomfort.

As Lina walked the halls, the girls behind her grew more and more uneasy, even going so far as to take one another's hands as they had done as children. But Lina hadn't stopped, no matter what the two Princesses had said.

They turned down a hallway, then another, with Lina in the front, Jedah behind her, with Gourry and Sylphiel behind him. The Princesses brought up the rear reluctantly, walking slower and slower as they approached a hallway they both dreaded. Indeed, as they feared, Lina turned down that hallway, approaching an ornate door at the end.

Coming to a halt at the door, Lina let the necklace fall against her chest and rested her hand on the handle, looking at the ornate carvings. "This is it."

Amelia and Naga both turned white and stared at Lina. "You can't… we can't go in there," Naga managed to whisper.

Lina frowned, unaware of the emotions felt by the two Princesses. "What do you mean, you can't go in there?"

"It's… where Mother died…" Amelia stammered. Naga could only bite her lip and nod at Amelia's words.

Lina looked at Princesses, then the door. Something was wrong behind it, and she was pretty sure that it wasn't related to the Princess' mother. Squaring her shoulders, she turned the handle of the door. "I'm sorry. I have to," she said.

And she opened the door, stepping through it without another word.

The explosion filled the room, the light spilling out into the hallway and blinding almost everyone.

Then the silence and darkness fell.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Perchance to Dream 14

Forgive the formatting, they're starting to screen out some of the parameters that Word inserts into the html and I'm too lazy to change the coding!! –'Veshka

Perchance to Dream 

Chapter 14

Three little words.

_I love you._

The last words whispered in her ear before he turned and walked away.

_I love you._

That tiny little phrase that meant her life and her soul.

_I love you._

The words that she'd once whispered to him.

Lina steadied herself in the doorway to the darkened room, closing her eyes, lifting her hand and silently calling forth a light spell. As the sphere of light lifted from her hand and gradually lit the room, she opened her eyes and looked, afraid of what she might find.

The room was empty.

There were signs of disturbances, the dust illustrated all too clearly that someone had been in the room… and the charred signs left from the explosion indicated that whoever had been sitting in the chair…

Shattered remnants of a red crystal were scattered around the floor, and for a moment, all Lina could see was her mental image of Zelgadis' cloak clasp shattering into a million pieces. It felt like her heart was that very crystal.

Lina sank to her knees, convinced of her worst fear: Xellos had come for Zelgadis, and won. Stress and fear overcame her, and she heard only the footsteps of someone rushing up to her as she fell, the voice a far and distant echo of her heart's cry.

Sylphiel was the closest, and she managed to cushion Lina's fall, casting a healing spell on the sorceress. Looking up to those still in the doorway, she sent Gourry a silent plea.

Jedah beat Gourry into the room, looking around and bending over to pick up a fragment of the red crystal on the floor. "This… was…"

Gourry paused long enough to look at Jedah, and then picked Lina up off of the floor. "Let's go… there's nothing in here now, and it's only hurting Amelia and Naga." He looked to the princesses who were cringing in the doorway and then back to Sylphiel. "Sylphiel… was…?"

The Cleric shook her head. "I can't tell, Gourry. There's a powerful spell in this room. It's best if I left it alone."

Gourry nodded, taking Lina out of the room and Sylphiel caught Jedah's sleeve and firmly escorted the young man out, closing the door behind her.

_They were walking along the road together, headed back for the hotel after the sword practicing which had become a routine with them now. It was quiet, only the leaves rustling in the trees as they walked side-by-side. She found herself leaning into him, smelling the intoxicatingly earthy scent that seemed to follow him. It would be so easy just to give in…_

_She leaned in a little and it startled him at first. He wasn't used to anyone wanting to be near him… not like this… and yet, here she was. He looked down, only to have her hair brush at his chin, that tantalizing spiced greenwood scent all too alluring. Hesitantly, he brought his arm around her, resting his hand on her arm. Maybe that wouldn't get him hurt too badly…_

_She'd stopped right then, turning into him and reaching up to his face with her hands. His eyes widened as she touched his cheeks. Her fingers were light and gentle as she pulled his face downwards towards hers. Her lips ever so soft against his ear as she breathed a set of words that he almost didn't believe he heard._

_But he had heard them, and she'd turned and walked quietly off into the night, leaving him standing at the edge of the forest, looking for all the world like a lost little boy. He was entrapped in a spell that she'd cast without knowing, and he had no way of escaping. Not that he wanted to escape. Rather, it took everything that he was to keep from following her…_

When Lina opened her eyes, she was in her bedroom, and for a moment, the earlier explosion was unremembered, lost in the weavings of a half-remembered evening. But the minute she focused on Sylphiel's worried face it all came rushing back to her and the pain of having lost Zelgadis once more was breathtaking. It brought the feelings back all too sharply, and somewhere within herself, she finally made the decision. _No! I am not going to let this go without a fight! It's time that I stopped playing the games._

She sat up in the bed, the old pain returning to her eyes, etching new hard lines on her face. Swinging her feet around to the side of the bed, she stood up and looked at the startled Cleric. "Sylphiel, go get everyone. I'll meet you in the Dining Room." Her voice was cold, all traces of her normally unbeatable humor gone. Sylphiel froze for a moment, then nodded and fled the room.

Lina sat on the edge of the bed, gathering herself. It was hard to accept that when she left the room he wouldn't be there. But she'd done that before, hadn't she? Stood in this very room and come to terms with the fact that he was dead? She reached up and touched the necklace that he had given her. The stone was strangely cold, and she had very little doubt of what it meant. She closed her eyes and reached with her mind to try and feel the link that the stone had with him, to grasp at any chance there might be. But there was nothing, as if she had picked up a stone from the road outside and tried to find a source of magic within it. It was simply an aquamarine now.

She let the necklace fall and walked over to the closet, tying her hair back into a ponytail, pulling it out of her eyes. She took a breath, and then steadied herself as she opened the closet door and focused on what she would have to do.

Lina's usual costume was waiting for her, but she didn't feel like the pink and yellow. The magic guild days were gone, she'd learned a lot more since then, and she was going to prove it today. Bypassing the pink, she reached instead for the black ensemble that she had bought in town after learning of Zelgadis' 'death' at the hands of Xellos when she'd returned to Saillune. It was nothing as ornate as her pink costume, but she didn't feel ornate anymore. She wasn't in this for anything other than business, and the harsh lines of the black shirt and pants indicated that.

It took only moments for her to dress, and once again, she caught up her sword, cloak, and talisman pouch, slipping out of the room and moving for the dining hall. Only this time, Zelgadis wasn't here to talk her out of going after Xellos. And that was precisely the reason why she was going after him.

She left the room, slipping the cloak about her shoulders and fastening the inner clasp absently as she thought out what she would have to do. _The difficulty in fighting Xellos is that I'll have to do it on his terms. That means I'll have to go to him. Which puts me at a disadvantage… because my strong spells won't work where I'll have to go. It won't be a fair fight… and I probably won't make it back alive._ A silent voice in her heart asked her if she wanted to… and she couldn't answer herself.

As she walked into the dining room, the cloak flipped about her ankles. She latched her belt and set the pouch and sword on the table as the others looked at her. "I'm going after Xellos. None of you have to come. In fact, it would probably be better if you didn't."

Sylphiel opened her mouth, but the expression on Lina's face gave her cause enough to keep whatever thoughts she had to herself. Instead, the Cleric offered her thoughts to Cephied, invoking what blessings she could on the petite sorceress. If Lina was intent on doing what she thought Lina was going to do… every little blessing would help.

One by one, Lina clasped the talismans on, wrist, wrist, belt, and finally cloak. Without looking, she knew that Jedah was about to volunteer himself to tag along. "Jedah, you aren't going, so don't even try. Amelia, you stay here and keep an eye on him."

Jedah looked at Lina, his expression much akin to a whipped puppy dog. "But I…" Amelia put a silencing hand on his shoulder. She knew why Lina was going, knew all too well the feeling of losing someone dear. Jedah was still young… he would learn in time. Amelia wasn't certain that it had occurred to Jedah that Zelgadis probably wasn't ever coming back.

Lina cut him off, crimson eyes glinting as she looked to him. "No buts, Jedah. Xellos outclasses everyone in this room. If anyone has to die today, I'd rather it be just me." She gave her cloak a tug to resettle the clasp at her neck.

"Die…?" Jedah echoed, the word only a whispered fear within the minds of those watching Lina.

"Lina, you can't possibly think-" Amelia started, but backed down the moment Lina's hard-edged gaze shifted to her. She'd never quite seen Lina this pissed off. This went way beyond anything Amelia had run into with Lina before. _Was this how Lina looked when she called the Lord of Nightmares against Phibrizo? And would she cast the Giga Slave again?_

"Amelia, I have no choice." Amelia jumped slightly as Lina's reply came, perhaps not in answer to her thoughts… but it was too close for comfort. "What Xellos has done goes beyond anything that anyone has ever done to me and lived to regret. He's taken away someone that I love."

Silence filled the room, for while everyone except Naga had felt that Lina indeed loved Zelgadis, none of them had ever heard her so much as openly acknowledge the possibility. And there she'd just said it.

Lina reached for her sword on the table, but a hand caught her wrist. The grasp wasn't forceful, and she looked sharply to the blue eyes that looked back at her calmly. "Lina," Gourry said. "If you're going to fight Xellos alone, take this." The hilt of the Sword of Light was pressed into her hand, and she looked at it quietly for a moment before fixing it at her waist with a silent nod.

Naga looked at Lina. She'd never seen Lina this way. Sure, she and Lina had been in some scrapes before… and it wasn't like there wasn't rivalry between them… _but Lina…_ Naga stood up and walked over to Lina. She was still taller than the redhead, but it didn't matter now. She placed her hand on Lina's shoulder and looked hard at the woman that Lina had become.

For a moment, Lina's expression softened. She offered the ghost of a smile to the woman who stood before her, then turned to the door. Naga's hand slipped off of Lina's shoulder and the elder Princess of Saillune suddenly understood how much Lina had changed since that day at the beach.

Lina put her hands out in front of her, a brilliant sphere of light forming. The spell had no words, nothing to give a clue to an observer what it was. But everyone in the room knew what the spell that she was casting was intended to do.

Lina was leaving.

"Lina! Be careful!" Sylphiel called to the sorceress' back.

They hadn't noticed Amelia stand up and walk around the table until she was beside Lina. But Lina didn't turn, didn't acknowledge either Sylphiel's words or Amelia's presence.

Amelia extended her hand, her voice a whisper. "Forgive me, Lina." There was a pause, and then her voice drew on an inner strength. "Infinite power, the Light of the Spirit… I call upon thee in our time of need. Heed my call and open the door to the Astral Plane!"

Amelia's spell caught up and absorbed Lina's spell, the Door opening like a brilliant rift in the archway of the dining room. Around it, they could see through into the hall beyond, but within the opalescent shimmer was the Astral Plane, revealed to each onlooker as something entirely different.

The only reaction from Lina was a light touch of her fingers to Amelia's outstretched hand. And then she stepped into and through the Door, hair swirling in the immense magical forces held at bay by Amelia's spell. 

Lina vanished.

The Door dissolved, the hallway beyond the wooden arch seeming somehow less impressive, the room emptier.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Perchance to Dream

Forgive the formatting, they're starting to screen out some of the parameters that Word inserts into the html and I'm too lazy to change the coding!! –'Veshka

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 15

In an out of the way tavern in Saillune, a bartender closed his eyes for a moment, looking away as if in pain.

In a restaurant in a small town, a waitress lifted her head and opened her eyes to look across the room.

Silence fell in the dining room and Amelia walked quietly back to her chair and sank into it. Her sister, equally shaken, sat in her own chair, unwilling to break the silence.

At length, a voice did break the silence. "She has to know that she can't win."

"She knows, Jedah. But I've never known something like that to keep Lina from doing what she wanted to do," Gourry replied. "Whatever will be, Lina will be Lina."

Amelia nodded slowly. "Lina never lets much get in her way. When I first met her, I thought she was the most amazing person I'd ever met. After I got to know her, I knew that she was." There was a pause, and in a quieter voice, Amelia added, "Even after everything that's happened, she didn't walk away from me. She doesn't let anyone down."

Sylphiel leaned forwards, clasping her hands on the table. "What do we do now? It's obvious that she doesn't intend to come back. No sorceress goes physically into the Astral Plane without knowing the chances of returning are slim to none."

Naga shook her head. "She doesn't want us to do anything. A long time ago, Lina and I used to get into a lot of things together. She told me on more than one occasion that if something went wrong, I wasn't to stop living just because she wasn't around anymore."

Gourry put his hand on the table with a loud thump. "Guys! Enough of this! If there's even the slightest chance that Lina can make it, can defeat Xellos and come back to tell us all about what she did to him, she'll do it. Lina's not a quitter. So we'd better not quit on her."

Everyone looked to Gourry as his words sank in. He was right, and they knew it. How many times had Lina come back from the edge of destruction? How many times had they known Lina was gone, known beyond the shadow of a doubt that she had nothing left to try… and yet she'd pulled something out of nothing and triumphed?

"You're right, Gourry!" Amelia chirped, the old cheerfulness coming back into her voice. "If anyone can do it, Lina can! So we've got to do our best to help her!"

"But… how?" Jedah asked, not entirely certain that Amelia was in her right mind.

"I wish I knew, Jedah, I wish I knew," the princess replied.

The sorceress in question hovered in the Astral Plane and considered her options. From here, she could very easily travel to whatever Xellos called his pocket of reality. She could also do a bunch of other things, but right now, she had to prepare for what would be the hardest thing she'd ever do. Gaav and Xellos were close to the same level… and she knew that she hadn't managed to destroy Gaav. That had been Hellmaster's doing. And the Lord of Nightmares had destroyed Hellmaster.

So how in the hell did she expect to win?

She didn't.

She was going off half-cocked, on a mission that would end up in her getting killed.

"Well, those are odds you're used to, Lina. Nothing new there. So let's get going…"

The battle was dragging. He wasn't showing any signs of tiring, but he hadn't turned yet, either. So just what in the hell was going on? Firing off a Burst Rondo as a distraction, he phased out of the area. There! That would confuse him for long enough…

An Elmekia Lance slammed into him, and the force of it spun him around. But his attacker wasn't who he thought it was. He gasped in surprise as a hand shot out, fingers catching his cloak and yanking him unceremoniously towards her. His eyes opened in astonishment, the impossibility of it all striking him. 

Lina Inverse wasted no time. If Xellos has been dropped in her lap, so to speak, who was she to question it? Her lips moved with the words, the talismans responding. "Lord of the Darkness and the Four Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power that you possess!"

The words that came immediately to Xellos' mind were not in any language that could possibly be translated into anything that made any sense. But he was in a whole lot of trouble, and if he didn't manage to recover from that Elmekia Lance in time…

Crimson eyes narrowed as she focused on Xellos. He looked concerned, and the last time she'd seen him look like that, Gaav had just blasted a hole through him. So then… "Lord of Darkness and the Four Worlds, I beseech thy fragments;"

_Oh hells. She's going to cast the Laguna Blade and it's going to take me a damnably long time to recover from that!_ Xellos thought. "Look, Lina… I can explain this… there's no need for brute force…" he started, trying to squirm free.

"By all the power thou possesseth, grant the heaven's wrath to my hand…" Lina continued relentlessly, tightening her grasp on Xellos' cloak.

He phased into the Astral Plane in time to hear the chilling second phrase of the Laguna Blade spoken by a very familiar, yet very cold voice. _Damn! Lina must have come into the room and…!_ "Lina! No!"

Chaos was crackling within the Astral Plane. The Laguna Blade was not a spell to be taken lightly, and it definitely wasn't one to be cast in the Astral. Chaos Words and the Astral Plane had long ago proven to be completely incompatible. Not only would the spell severely injure Xellos, but he doubted that Lina would survive the aftermath.

"Unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness;" Lina continued, eyes closed and hand weaving the Chaos that was slowly gathering around her. At point blank… Xellos was going to have a very rude awakening.

"Ray Freeze!"

Xellos wasn't entirely certain what had just occurred, but Lina wasn't casting anymore. In fact, she wasn't moving. That enabled him to free himself and he was just about to flee when a vice-like grip caught him by the shoulder.

"Oh no, you don't. Not until you start explaining a few things."

Xellos cringed. He'd forgotten about that. Perfectly matched, and perfectly out-matched. There was no way he was going to escape easily… and with the effects of the Elmekia Lance still stinging, it was easier just to give in and explain for now.

The area shimmered, the scintillations of the Astral Plane parting and dissolving to reveal the room in the forgotten part of the palace.

He paused for a moment, and then looked to Lina. This wasn't going to be easy to explain. He'd handle that later. Reaching up to touch two fingers to her forehead, he cast a sleeping spell and she crumpled without a whimper. He caught her and set her easily on the bed before turning back to the Trickster Priest.

"Now then. I see that Lina's little attack gives me the chance to ask you a few questions…"

Amelia and Naga both shuddered suddenly, looking to each other nervously. "I have a bad feeling about Lina…" the younger princess whispered. 

The elder nodded and put her arm around her sister. "I do too, Amelia. But there's nothing that we can do."

There was a sigh, and Sylphiel walked up and looked to the princesses. "Your father is finally healed. It seems that Xellos had put a curse on him as well, which just suddenly fell apart. Your father is very lucky to have lived this long."

The girls sighed in relief, for Prince Phil had been in a coma since the day of the attack. He had no idea that Gracia (Naga) had returned, and they both knew that he was in for a shock at everything that had happened since.

But there was more of a shock coming to all of them. They just didn't know it yet.

"You were turning into a Mazoku. That couldn't be allowed to happen," Xellos said, looking not at who he spoke to, but to Lina's crumpled form on the bed. _She had to have known that she wouldn't survive the calling of Chaos to the Astral Plane. So why did she do it? Was it because… because of him?_

"Why not?"

Xellos looked up out of his thoughts. "Because you would have replaced me."

"Wait a minute. You're telling me that if I had turned into a Mazoku, I would have replaced you? So none of this was to get me out of the way so that you could have Lina?"

Xellos considered. "No. Lina was merely a convenient way to get to you. Just as Amelia was an easy way to get to Lina. You were my ultimate target. But because of the spell…"

There was a sigh. "Because of the spell cast by the Red Priest, you couldn't touch me directly. So you had to lay an elaborate trap and wait for the pieces to fall one by one. And while you managed to succeed… you ultimately failed. I didn't become a Mazoku."

Violet eyes glinted for a moment. "No, you didn't. And so I have no reason to want you dead."

"Get lost, Xellos," He waved his hand and banished the Mazoku from the room. He had to admit; whatever he'd become had its advantages. He was a human with almost all the abilities of a Mazoku. He could dismiss Xellos with a thought, not that he thought for a moment that Xellos wasn't capable of returning immediately if he so chose. But now there was Lina. He'd caught her in the middle of casting a powered-up Laguna Blade. This could get tricky…

She was standing in the clearing with her sword, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why. Oh yes. This was where she'd told him. This was the last place she had ever been happy.

Her spell must have failed. Maybe casting the Laguna Blade in the Astral Plane wasn't such a good idea after all. Chaos and Astral magics didn't precisely go hand-in-hand, but that was an old story, wasn't it? Was she alive? Was she dead? Did any of it matter?

She sheathed her sword and walked over to lean against a tree. Left with only memories, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _I'm still alive. There's still a chance that I can get back and find out what happened…but first… rest…_

But she couldn't rest. Thoughts plagued her, little whispered mental questions asking a thousand different things. Why hadn't she said yes when she had the chance? Why hadn't she kissed him when he was in her room that night? But it was too late now, wasn't it? He was gone. And soon, so would she be.

She opened her eyes. There was no sense wasting what little time she had left by whining in her own mind. She should focus her energies on how to get out of here… wherever here was.

As she considered, the stone at her throat began to glow.

She froze, looking at the blue brilliance. A voice caught her attention.

"Lina."

She looked up, too worn out to cringe. "Luna…"

Her sister was standing there with her sword at her side, hands on her hips. "Lina, sometimes things aren't what you make them to be. Sometimes you have to take it on faith."

Lina frowned. Her sister had said that to her a very long time ago, long before Lina had even met Naga.

"You're going to meet someone special one day, and he's going to mean more to you than the entire world. But if you aren't careful, you're going to mess it up. You push, you pull, one day you'll break something and you'll never get it back, Lina."

Lina looked away. Memories. That's what this was. It was nothing more than a collection of memories that she was digging out of her own mind to chastise herself with. Confront, accept, and move past. Time to get out.

"Yeah, I know, Luna," she said, as if her sister really was standing there. "I pushed too hard. And now that I know it… it's too late. Zelgadis is gone… and there's nothing that I can do to get him back."

"Hey, Lina? Why don't you walk beside Mister Zelgadis?"

Lina spun to see Amelia standing there, younger, happier. The forest was gone, and they were standing on a dusty road. "Amelia… I…"

"I told you that he likes you… it's not just because of that spell. And when we get to Saillune… I have a special gift for you two, okay, Miss Lina?"

Lina sighed. _Yeah… and that gift was the ball that I ran away from. Luna was right. I really can be an idiot._

"I don't know why you worry about Zelgadis liking you, Lina. It's not like you're fat or anything…"

Lina cringed. She'd beaten the fool out of Gourry for saying that.

"Lina, why don't you come with me?"

She turned, seeing Zelgadis standing there. He was standing right there, blue eyes looking at her so gently… and he'd never look at her that way again. He was gone, and there was nothing that she could do to change that. _Accept, Lina. Accept, and move on…_ Tears filled her own eyes and she looked away, fighting the overwhelming sorrow for a moment before allowing herself to be swallowed into the darkness.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Lina came crashing back to consiousness with the mother of all headaches

Forgive the formatting, they're starting to screen out some of the parameters that Word inserts into the html and I'm too lazy to change the coding!! –'Veshka

Perchance to Dream

Chapter 16****

Lina came crashing back to consciousness with the mother of all headaches. She lay there, wherever there was, with her eyes closed and focused her thoughts enough to reflect that if she had a headache, she had somehow survived to return to the physical world enough to experience it. Therefore, she was still alive. _Well, time to open your eyes and get on with life, Lina. But first…_

She reached up and put her hand on her forehead and cast the recovery spell silently, gritting her teeth at the pain involved, but it soon started to fade. The headache taken care of, she opened her eyes.

She was in her room in the palace, lying on her bed. It was obviously night-time, and yet she was fully clothed. _Well, at least I had the sense to land somewhere familiar. I wonder how long it's been…_

As she lay there looking at the ceiling, it came to her that she wasn't alone in the room. Indeed, it came to her as whoever was in the room with her rolled over on the bed and threw an arm over her, pulling her in closer.

Even after everything she'd been through, and with all the offensive spells that she had at her command, Lina reacted as any young woman who had just woken up to find someone in her bed with her: she screamed.

Chaos thus ensued.

The figure in her bed awoke with a start, leaping backwards out of the bed, landing beside the door.

The door blew open, flattening whoever was beside it as Gourry burst in, sword in hand, stopping just in front of the physical door, effectively trapping whoever was now stuck behind it. Not that Gourry knew that he'd done so.

Sylphiel came running in mere moments behind Gourry, scepter in hand, any number of pathetic attack spells at call.

A freeze arrow shot through the room and out the balcony door, shredding the curtains in the process as Naga ran in behind Sylphiel.

Amelia and Jedah both rushed in, Amelia at the tail end of yet another Justice speech, Jedah eagerly looking around the room for a 'bad guy' to clobber with the candlestick that he'd grabbed from the table in the hall.

All of this happened practically at once.

Lina stopped screaming.

A voice behind the blocked door swore quietly.

Naga cast a light spell as Gourry looked around the room for whatever intruder had been there, and Sylphiel walked over to the bed and looked at Lina. "Lina! Are you all right!? How did you get here? What happened?"

Lina blinked at the immediate reaction to her scream, then looked around the room. "There was… someone in here… with me."

Gourry had his sword in his hand, which accounted for his lack of intelligence at the moment. "But Lina, we're all in here with you."

Lina shot Gourry a dark look. "No, you idiot! There was someone in my bed. Before you came charging in to my rescue."

Sylphiel and Naga looked around the room, but as far as they could see, it was empty. "I don't see anyone, Lina. Are you sure that someone was here?"

"Of course I'm sure," Lina snapped. "They put their arm around me and took off in a flying leap when I screamed. Whoever it was landed by the door, and must have slipped out while you three were barging in." She folded her arms. First a headache, then some unknown person in her bed, and now all of this madcap nonsense in her bedroom. 

Gourry turned and peered behind the door. "Hey! There's someone back here!"

"Nice of you to notice, Gourry," a familiar voice muttered sarcastically. "Could you possibly get out of the way so I can move?"

Lina's eyes widened. "Zelgadis?" No… she couldn't dare hope that had truly been his voice.

Gourry moved out of the way and the door swung a bit as the black-clad intruder extricated himself from behind it.

Silence fell in the room as Zelgadis dusted himself off and looked at everyone. "What?" He asked irritably. He had a pretty good idea of what happened, but he wasn't about to elaborate at the moment. He was still peeved about being slammed into the wall by the door.

"Gosh, Zel… you really shouldn't sleep with Lina if she doesn't know you're there. I mean, she can really cast some fireballs," Gourry said, sword still in hand and brain still turned off.

"Gourry, put your sword away and start using your brain, would you?" Zelgadis muttered in reply.

Lina sat in the bed, torn between berating Zelgadis for allowing her to think that he was dead, berating him for being in bed with her, or going to kiss him in her relief that he was alive and further embarrassing them both.

Amelia saved Lina from doing anything. "Zelgadis! I'm so ashamed! How could you, when you and Lina aren't even engaged!"

Lina facefaulted, then watched Zelgadis' face turn completely red. "Amelia…" Zelgadis started, but Lina took the defense for him.

"Amelia, we're both fully dressed. It's no big deal… he just startled me. I mean… if there's anyone I'd want to wake up beside, it's Zelgadis, but when you're waking up from a trip into the Astral, sometimes you aren't completely aware…" Everyone was staring at her. She blinked, replaying her words in her mind, then turning her own shade of scarlet. _Oh no… I didn't just say that… No… no…_ but the look on Amelia's face was undeniable.

"Miss Lina! You do love him! Oh, I knew that true love would win over that evil Xellos!" Amelia spun with hearts and love flowing around her.

Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Amelia… it wasn't precisely like that…"

"Ano… Amelia…? You're killing me with cuteness again," Lina protested.

Sylphiel got caught up in the moment, smiling brightly. "It's so sweet, don't you think, Gourry dear?"

Gourry could only nod as Naga and Jedah looked on in amazement. "My sister can really put on a show, can't she?" Naga asked Jedah quietly. Jedah only nodded in reply, eyes wide with what Naga feared was admiration.

"That's it!" Lina said, slipping off of the bed, grabbing Amelia and Naga, and starting to shove people out of the room. "Out. All of you. I'm tired, I'm irritable, and I'm going back to bed, and the next person I see before morning is going to get a fireball in their face. Now beat it!"

Not even Zelgadis was safe from getting shoved out of the room, and the little group stood outside the now-closed door to Lina's room and looked at each other.

"Um…" Amelia ventured. "What happened, Zelgadis?"

Zelgadis looked at the door thoughtfully. "I'm trying to remember, Amelia."

Inside the room, Lina stalked back to her bed and took off her boots. A noise caused her to look up, and upon seeing someone; she sent a fireball flying towards them.

"That wasn't nice, Lina," Xellos complained, looking only somewhat singed. It was, after all, hard to harm a Mazoku with a simple fireball spell.

That was, of course, the very last straw. Lina brought her hands together, preparing to cast another spell, but Xellos stepped backwards, putting up his hands. "Lina… wait!"

She lowered her hands and glared at him. "What?"

"I have to explain something to you," he said simply.

"Start talking, fruitcake," she growled, spell still at ready.

Xellos sighed. Sometimes it didn't pay to irritate Lina. And he could tell that he'd irritated her plenty. If she got any more irritated, he'd have to get his Mistress to repair him, and that would involve a discussion of why he irritated Lina to begin with… and that could lead to some secrets being revealed. Xellos was a creature of secrets, and preferred all of his secrets remain so… so he was going to do his best not to irritate Lina further.

"My job, Lina, was to destroy Zelgadis if he became a Mazoku." There. That was simple. No room for misunderstandings or hard feelings, right?

The knuckles in his jaw said otherwise.

"Ow… What was that for, Lina?" Xellos asked, startled. He'd been as straightforward as he could be…

Lina scowled at him. "Leave Zelgadis alone."

"Oh, I intend to, Lina. He's not a Mazoku, though I'm not positive what he is… and I have no fears of him at this point. You think it over. We can talk about it later." He gathered his magic around him. "Bye!"

And then he bid a hasty retreat before she could get another hit in on him, vanishing into the air.

Lina sat on the bed. _So Zel isn't a Mazoku… We're both alive. Maybe… maybe there's a chance_. She thought as she curled up on the bed.__

As tired as she was, it took her no time to fall asleep.

Morning came and went without Lina. She slept through it, and woke up somewhere around lunchtime. It felt good to sleep that long. She stretched and sat up in the bed and yawned hugely before she realized that she was being watched.

Closing her mouth, she looked at him, lost somewhere between being pissed off that he was in her room, and being happy that he was there and not dead. She chose a combination of both and threw her pillow at him. "Zel! By Cepheid, don't you ever knock??"

He caught the pillow and looked at it for a moment. Instead of answering right away, he stood and walked over to Lina, looking at her for a moment before silently bopping her on the head with the pillow.

First, Lina squeaked in surprise. Second, she frowned in mock annoyance at him. Third, she grabbed another pillow and beat him in the stomach with it.

Of course he retaliated.

Suddenly the feathers were flying and both Lina and Zelgadis were engrossed in such an intense pillow fight that neither one noticed the knock at the door. Nor did they see the door pop open slightly and Sylphiel stick her head in.

The room was a chaos of feathers and occasional 'whoomphs' and 'oofs' as pillows made contact, resulting in an even bigger cloud of feathers. The Cleric occasionally saw a flash of flame red hair, but she couldn't see who the other participant in the feather pillow war was. So she cleared her throat.

When that didn't work, Sylphiel clasped her hands in front of her, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then hollered quiet loudly: "Lina!"

When she opened her eyes, all movement within the room save for the falling feathers had stopped. One pair of ruby eyes and one pair of aquamarine eyes looked in surprise to the door and Sylphiel.

"Oh… Sylphiel…" Lina put down her pillow and blushed as she scratched the back of her head. "Um… good morning…?"

"Actually, Lina," Sylphiel said as she waded through the feathers towards the bed, "It's almost lunchtime and we were wondering what you were doing."

"LUNCHTIME???" Lina hollered. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME SOONER!? GOURRY AND NAGA WILL EAT IT ALL!!!"

Sylphiel barely had time to register the black and red figure approach and then pass as Lina took off for the dining hall. She did, however, look at Zelgadis sitting on the bed with a half-filled pillow in his hands.

He blinked. "What?"

Sylphiel hid her smile as she turned to leave the room. "It's good to see you smiling, Zelgadis."

He sat there, lost for a moment as she left. Then it occurred to him that she wasn't poking fun or anything. She was genuinely happy for them. He grinned. A thoroughly devilish idea had come to him, and he had to find Amelia at once.

"She might hurt us if we do that, Zelgadis," Amelia said dubiously. Then she smiled. "But I think it's a great idea and she can only kill me once. I leave the hard part to you."

Granted, the hard part was getting Lina into that green dress that he'd seen her in before. But if he told her that he wanted to see her in it… well… she just might.

He nodded to Amelia and headed out towards the library where Lina was reading.

"You want me to what? Zelgadis, have you lost your mind? You still haven't told me what happened with Xellos and you want to take me where?" Lina said, book forgotten in her hands.

"I want to take you out to dinner, but you have to wear that dress," he repeated. "It's a few hours until dinner, so you have time to go get ready."

"Go get ready?! What am I supposed to do? Some girlish thing like soaking in a bathtub or something?" Lina squawked.

Zelgadis shrugged. "Why not?"

Lina stared. She considered, for a moment, refusing. _But… he looks so serious… and I've never known Zelgadis to be so romantic. Oh, what the hell. Even though I'll probably regret it…_ "Okay, fine. I'll go… soak." She put her book down and walked out of the library towards her room.

Zelgadis watched her go with a hidden smile. That had been easier than he'd thought it would be.

However, he was positive that Lina was going to kill him later.

Lina stood in front of the mirror, wondering why she'd let the servant talk her into wearing the slender crown in her hair. The last time she'd been this dressed up… her eyes met in the reflection and she shook her head. _None of that. It's past. It's over. Zelgadis wants to take you to dinner and this time you don't say no, Lina Inverse. This time, you don't break it._

She looked at herself in the mirror again, this time blushing. _You can cast a Dragon Slave without a thought, but you can't wear a dress comfortably, eh, Lina?_ She asked herself.

Shaking her head at her own silliness, Lina turned and left the room.


	17. 

Perchance to Dream - Chapter 17

**Perchance to Dream**   
**Chapter 17**

  
  


She was going to kill him.   
Lina paced, no, stalked back and forth in the foyer of the palace, just outside the doors of the Great Hall. _Zelgadis is late, I'm sick of this dress, and I _hate_ these shoes!!!_ Lina snarled to herself. Even worse, in order to stalk remotely close to properly, she had to hitch up the velvet skirt in her hands… which only resulted in her feeling all the more idiotic.   
Spin, stalk stalk stalk.   
Spin, stalk stalk stalk.   
Spin, pause.   
_Music? What the… Where's that coming from?_ She thought as she looked towards the doors of the Great Hall. She wasn't aware of anything going on tonight… in fact, Amelia had sent most of the servants off so she'd had to get the princess to finish lacing the dress after the servant had been ushered out.   
She tiptoed up to the door of the Hall, unaware that two shining blue eyes were watching her. As the door opened and Lina slipped into the room, Naga laughed softly to herself, sipping at her wine. _Hook, line, and sinker._

The Great Hall was dark, and Lina frowned, hearing the music but not seeing its source. There was a familiar scent in the room, and as she lifted her hand to cast a light spell, a hand caught hers, pulling her off to the side.   
Another hand fell at her shoulder, and before she could do anything to illustrate her irritation at the intrusion into her personal space, the lights flared brilliantly on in the Hall, blinding her for a moment.   
When her sight steadied, she saw that Gourry was holding her.   
And everyone was there… dressed for a ball… and they were looking at her.   
A thousand emotions ran through the redheaded sorceress. Several thoughts occurred. She could blast them all to kingdom come and be done with it. That would be the easiest. But hardly the best option because then she'd have to take up the repair details with Amelia. She could continue to stand there like a frightened rabbit caught in a trap, but that didn't appeal either.   
The touch at her shoulder intensified, and she involuntarily looked to Amelia, surprise still wild in her eyes.   
The princess of Saillune smiled faintly at her, eyes glinting. "Surprise, Lina." Jedah, standing beside the princess, grinned at Lina, saying nothing.   
_This… they set this up…? This is… This… for me…?_ Her mind stumbled over the thoughts, and she only looked at him in confusion. She so very badly wanted to smash someone over the head for this stunt. But as she considered her odds, the group of people in the room parted, and she saw who was across the room.   
Zelgadis stood quietly, hands folded behind his back, under the black cloak that she had seen him wear before. Dressed head to foot in black, with his pale skin and silvery-violet hair, she could only agree with Jedah's softly whispered 'wow.' She stood, frozen by the emotions stirring within her, and barely noticed when Gourry and Amelia gave her a little shove that set her walking towards Zelgadis.   
By the time she got within his reach, she had seen the intense look on his face and begun to blush. It was so plainly written in his eyes… how could she have thought it was a spell? He really was… She faltered, closing her eyes for a moment and coming to a stop just in front of him. At the brief touch of his hand on her cheek, she opened her eyes, looking at him, unsure of what to say.   
He smiled. "Lina… you look lovely." He extended his hand to her, "Could I… have this dance?"   
She took his hand in lieu of a reply, and across the room Amelia excitedly reached out and hugged the nearest person… who just so happened to be a very startled Jedah. It didn't register who she was hugging until he excitedly hugged back and agreed with her.   
Amelia blinked, looking to Jedah and blushing. Lina had said there was someone in this world for her… could it possibly be… he was kind of looking at her like Zelgadis looked at Lina… or was that her imagination?   
Glancing over Amelia's shoulder, he saw Zelgadis pull Lina into the dance, and then grinned back at the blushing girl in front of him. Without the polished refinement that Zelgadis showed Lina, Jedah grabbed Amelia by the hand and took off for the dance floor, leaving Gourry and Sylphiel to stand nearby and laugh at the princess' startled squeak as she followed Jedah.   
"You know, Sylphiel, those two make a pretty cute couple, don't you think?" Gourry commented around his drink. He was being wise tonight, drinking only water.   
Sylphiel nodded as she watched. "Yes. Jedah and Amelia are very cute together."   
"Ugh," Naga said, finishing her fourth goblet of wine. "I've had enough cute with those two." She waved off at Lina and Zelgadis. "It's going to make me sick."   
"No, Naga, dear. All that wine is what will make you sick. Do remember what that does to your head in the morning…" Sylphiel warned, then looked back to Lina and Zelgadis. They looked so very much in love. Just like her and Gourry dear… 

They may have looked in love, but that wasn't the topic of discussion as the two danced. Instead, the two had noticed the younger pair out on the dance floor.   
"Zel… Jedah's dancing with Amelia…" Lina whispered. "I have a strange feeling…"   
"I know," Zelgadis replied, casting a glance at the pair. Jedah was flushed with excitement, and it seemed to be spilling over into Amelia. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen either of the two so… exuberant. It was enough to make him worry.   
Lina smiled. "Oh, let them be, Zelgadis. They'll be okay. I don't know how I know… but I just do." She paused, and then looked to her dance partner. "Zel…? I… I'm sorry…"   
He looked to her, the two of them dancing there in the Great Hall, yet suddenly off in their own little world. "Sorry for what, Lina?"   
"For running off like that three years ago. I… I was wrong. I should have stayed…" She blushed again, looking down. "When I said that I loved you… the night before we arrived in Saillune…" Lina's voice failed her as the memories came back to her. 

_ They were walking along the road back into the town together, headed back for the hotel after the sword practicing which had become a routine with them now. It was quiet, only the leaves rustling in the trees as they walked side-by-side. She found herself leaning into him, smelling the intoxicatingly earthy scent that seemed to follow him. It would be so easy just to give in…_   
_ She leaned in a little and it startled him at first. He wasn't used to anyone wanting to be near him… not like this… and yet, here she was. He looked down only to have her hair brush at his chin, that tantalizing spiced greenwood scent all too alluring. Hesitantly, he brought his arm around her, resting his hand on her arm. Maybe that wouldn't get him hurt too badly…_   
_ She stopped right then, and turned into him, reaching up to his face with her hands. For a moment his heart stopped, and he knew that he was a dead man. His eyes widened as she touched his cheeks, traced the tiny little stones that marked his jawline. Her fingers were light and gentle as she pulled his face downwards towards hers. Her lips ever so soft against his ear as she breathed a set of words that he almost didn't believe he heard._   
_ "I love you."_   
_ But he had heard them, and she turned and walked quietly off into the night, leaving him standing at the edge of the forest, looking for all the world like a lost little boy. He was entrapped in a spell that she'd cast without knowing, and he had no way of escaping. Not that he wanted to escape. Rather, it took everything that he was to keep from following her…_   
_ She got to the hotel, breathless with fright. She'd said it… she'd said it! She'd said it and she'd meant it! No, no, no. She couldn't fall in love! The dangers, the risks… she remembered the near blindness that enveloped her when she thought she was in love with Gourry. She'd been willing to take on Hellmaster on her own… No. She'd have to leave and soon before things got out of hand. It was all that damned spell of Rezo's. The spell that had bound her to Zelgadis had let her see the side of him that he'd never show anyone. Not even her._   
_ She looked in the mirror at her reflection, whispering the words to herself. "You're a fool, Lina Inverse. Tomorrow, you go to Saillune, just like nothing happened. And the first chance you get, you get the Hell out. There's no use loving someone who doesn't really love you back."_   
_ And she had._

She looked at him and blushed again. "I hurt you that night… I saw you waiting… waiting for me. Xellos showed me… Your conversation with Gourry at the ball… I saw how badly I'd hurt you… and I'm sorry…"   
Forgetting that they were in a large room full of people, Zelgadis silenced Lina with a kiss.   
For a moment, the air was heavy with a feeling of anticipation, and then Jedah broke the silence with a delighted yelp as he dashed over and gleefully grabbed his brother in an exuberant hug. Zelgadis blinked, looked at Jedah, then Lina, and the two blushed brilliantly as he realized that the entire room had witnessed the kiss.   
Jedah, caught up in the excitement bounced around Zelgadis until the latter was forced to grab his younger sibling and force him still. "Jedah, enough! You're going to annoy Amelia." Never mind that you're already annoying me, he thought.   
Amelia managed to catch up to Jedah and looked to Zelgadis. "It's… okay… if he… wants to bounce. He…" She looked at her fingers, blushing faintly. "He isn't bothering me…"   
Zelgadis looked at Jedah, then looked at Amelia. He didn't get to say anything in the matter because right then he noticed that Lina had slipped off in the sudden cover of the chaos that Jedah had caused. Letting go of his brother with an exasperated sigh, Zelgadis turned away to find where Lina had gone. 

Lina caught her breath on the balcony. The stars were out and the wind was light, a perfect evening for standing out there and thinking. Only, she wasn't alone.   
"What do you want, Xellos?"   
The Mazoku stepped out of the shadow, once again clad in the deep violet suit. "A great many things, Lina Inverse. One of which is your word."   
She turned to look at him, crimson eyes catching the light and catching him off-guard. He really was in love with her. She burned him every time he came too close, and even though it hurt, it was delicious.   
"What word, Xellos?" Her voice was flat, her eyes dangerously bright, and he knew that he stood just within the limits of her patience and tolerance. If he pushed the wrong way, she'd end up blasting him, and he was still stinging from her Elmekia Lance. He really didn't want another battle right now.   
"You must promise me…" He started, then opened his eyes and looked at her fiercely.   
Lina stepped backwards, bumping into the railing. "What, Xellos? You'd better tell me what it is, fruitcake, or I'll-!"   
He put his finger to her lips, brilliant violet eyes locking with her crimson eyes. "Don't ever change, Lina. No matter what happens in your life. Don't ever change."   
"W-what?" She managed to stammer as he stepped backwards.   
"Only one Mazoku can ever love, Lina. And that Mazoku is myself. If he had become a Mazoku…"   
Lina looked at Xellos incredulously. "Are you saying that you did this all… all for us? For me and Zelgadis?"   
Closing his eyes, the Mazoku looked past her shoulder towards the interior of the Hall. Zelgadis was making his way out here. Oops, time to go. Flashing a smile to the bewildered sorceress, he lifted into the air. "That… is a secret."   
Zelgadis arrived just as Xellos vanished. Lina exploded as she glared at the space that had been Xellos. "That… fruitcake!!!"   
"What?" Zelgadis asked Lina, scanning the area but seeing nothing, as was typical when the Trickster Priest pulled one of his more usual stunts to get Lina riled up.   
"He… he…" As she thought it over, it suddenly made sense. Xellos had told her last night that he had to destroy Zelgadis, or Zelgadis would have replaced him. Which meant that as a Mazoku, Zelgadis would have become the one who could love. So in order to protect the one thing that Xellos held dear… he had to keep Zelgadis from becoming a Mazoku. Which meant… that Xellos loved her… enough to let Zelgadis have her, but only as a non-Mazoku…   
Lina shook her head, taking his arm and heading back inside. "Nothing, Zel. It just looks like Xellos is up to his old tricks again. What else is new?"   
Zelgadis wasn't entirely positive, but he allowed Lina to take him back inside the Hall. 

Gourry and Naga were locked in a battle of snores. Gourry leaning backwards in his chair, Naga in her chair, propped up by the boning and starch in her gown. Sylphiel shook her head sadly. The elder princess would regret all that wine in the morning. Gourry dear… well, he'd had a long day. With a sigh, the cleric turned to see Lina and Zelgadis walk back into the room. She smiled and walked towards them.   
"Lina… I wanted to tell you earlier… you look so lovely. And it is good to see you smiling, Zelgadis."   
Had he been smiling? He supposed he had. Looking at Sylphiel, he gave an embarrassed laugh. But before he could say anything, he saw Xellos pop in behind Jedah as he was dancing with Amelia. As he watched in horror, Xellos conveniently bumped into Jedah… causing the young man to stumble into an impromptu kiss with Amelia. Xellos bowed and waved cheerily at Zelgadis before vanishing.   
Lina stared at the two on the dance floor, then cringed as Jedah stepped away from Amelia, apologizing profusely. She had been too busy watching Xellos, and hadn't figured out what he was up to.   
But what shocked Zelgadis, Lina, and Sylphiel was that Amelia was only blushing and stammering. It was as if she'd turned back into the young girl that they'd been traveling with three years ago.   
Lina looked at Zelgadis just as he looked at her. "Oh no…" they both groaned.   
Sylphiel clasped her hands. "It's so sweet!"   
Both Lina and Zelgadis hit the floor. 


	18. 

Perchance to Dream - Chapter 18

**Perchance to Dream**   
**Chapter 18**

Lina and Zelgadis didn't know what to make of Amelia and Jedah. The mere fact that they were standing in the center of the Hall making eyes at each other was more than alarming, although Lina personally thought it was a good idea, and that the two would get along well together. Zelgadis was afraid that Jedah was going to get in over his head. But as the older couple stood and watched in shock, Amelia somehow managed to recover herself and turn to look at them.   
"Lina, Zelgadis, what are you two staring at? It's your dance down here, so get down here and dance!"   
Amelia didn't mention the kiss that had just passed between herself and Zelgadis' brother.   
Nor did she mention the fact that they'd stared at each other blushing and stammering afterward.   
It was as if it had simply happened and 'oh well that's nice.'   
But then… that was Amelia.   
Zelgadis pondered for a moment, and then decided that if Lina hadn't killed him for any of this yet, she might not kill him after all. So grabbing the startled redhead's hand and heading down the stairs into the dance floor, he called out. "Fine! We'll dance. Play the music."   
Everyone who knew Zelgadis stared. Well, everyone but Jedah. Jedah just grinned conspiratorially at Amelia. "Get them to play a waltz. I want to see if he takes the bait."   
Amelia grinned at Jedah, but the music had already started. She couldn't do anything about this dance… but she could try for the next. She tiptoed through the people watching and whispered to a musician, who nodded in reply.   
Zelgadis guided Lina across the floor, and it was all that the sorceress could do to stay on her feet and not Zelgadis'. She wasn't much of a dancer for this type of music, and where in the world had Zelgadis learned to dance? "Zel… everyone's watching…"   
"Let them," came his reply, and she looked at him in surprise. He seemed to be enjoying himself, so she did her best to follow along. When the song came to an end, Lina secretly hoped that he wouldn't want to dance again. She'd caught sight of the buffet, and she was kind of hungry…   
Three successive taps signaled the next dance. It was a waltz, and while Lina felt Zelgadis stiffen, she grinned. This was the only dance she knew… and she knew it quiet well, thanks to the wine festivals. Forget the buffet, she wanted to show Zelgadis that she was more than the two left feet that she seemed to be during that last dance. But he didn't seem very interested, moving stiffly.   
"Zel…?" Her eyes searched his, and for a moment, she saw the stony walls lifting within his gaze. But he looked into her eyes, and suddenly his movements became more fluid, his touch certain, and she felt him shift into the music with ease.   
The two danced, moving as if they were of one mind. Lina felt the waltz becoming more than a simple dance… as if she and Zelgadis were casting a spell with their very movements. She looked into his eyes and saw that he was watching her intently. She could see it all there in his eyes, everything that he wanted to tell her. She knew everything that he seemed afraid to say. She smiled at him, aware of the bond forming between them. It was tangible, a force that drew them to each other and sparked a fire in his eyes that she'd never seen before. It nearly took her breath away.   
Jedah and Amelia watched with awe as Lina and Zelgadis waltzed across the floor, and Amelia looked to Jedah. "Wow."   
Jedah grinned with all the excitedness of a boy getting a new puppy. "Isn't my brother just too cool?"   
Amelia nodded without being aware that she was agreeing with Jedah. "It's like there's… magic between them. They're meant to be together for all eternity!"   
Only six people didn't sweatdrop, and that was because two of them were too busy dancing and didn't hear her, two of them were sleeping soundly, and Jedah and Amelia were too caught up in the moment. 

The waltz came to an end, and the two dancers came to a halt, staring intently at each other. Applause burst out throughout the room and Lina and Zelgadis looked around, blushing.   
Zelgadis spotted the bouncing Jedah and gave Lina's shoulder a squeeze before heading towards his over-exuberant younger sibling. Lina watched Jedah flash a grin at Zelgadis, then take off running out of the hall. With a muttered comment under his breath Zelgadis gave pursuit, and Lina shook her head in amusement as she walked over to the buffet. That last dance had really worked up her appetite.   
"Oh, Lina. You and Mister Zelgadis looked so perfect out there!"   
Lina turned as she stuffed a cheese-laden cracker in her mouth. Sylphiel stood there smiling so brightly that Lina instinctively cringed. "Oi, Sylphiel. We were only dancing."   
"She's right, Lina! You two are meant to be together!" Amelia bubbled. "I was wrong to think that Zelgadis was meant for me."   
"Yeah, you and his brother get along much better, neh Amelia?" Lina said after she'd swallowed both the cracker and her embarrassment.   
Amelia blinked at Lina, looking down at her hands in an attempt to hide her own embarrassment. "I don't know what you mean, Lina. Jedah's very sweet and kind…"   
Lina rolled her eyes. "You kissed him, Amelia! You don't just kiss everyone who is sweet and kind… I'd be afraid of your father finding out. You're lucky that he's out of town with that meeting."   
"Well," Sylphiel began. "Xellos did push Jedah into her… it was purely accidental. I'm sure Prince Phil would understand…"   
"If you can call anything that perverted Mazoku does accidental, Sylphiel." Lina shot at the raven-haired Cleric. "So come on, Amelia. Give it up. We know you like him," Lina said, hoping the redirect would focus them on someone other than herself and Zelgadis.   
"Well… I, er… That is…" Amelia began.   
"Yes?" Both Lina and Sylphiel chorused, leaning into hear what Amelia was whispering. 

"I give in, okay! I did it! I got Amelia to ask for a waltz! Now will you get off?" Jedah tried the poor-pitiful-me act.   
The older brother sat quietly on his younger sibling, contemplating his fingernails. "And do you want to tell me why you asked for a waltz?" He obviously wasn't falling for the act.   
"Because you're so cool when you're dressed in black, and I wanted everyone to see how great you are!" Jedah paused. "You waltz really well, and when you were dancing with Lina… it was like magic."   
Zelgadis sighed the heavy sigh of an older brother who gets only a fraction of the respect that he deserves from his younger sibling. "Jedah… tell me, is it your one goal in life to embarrass me?"   
Jedah stopped squirming, thinking for a moment. With an impish grin, he offered an answer. "Um… well, it's not my only goal… I mean, seeing you and Lina get married ranks higher." That should do it…   
Zelgadis fell over, which allowed Jedah to scramble to his feet and take off out of the room. Antagonizing his brother was something that he thoroughly enjoyed, and it helped to know that his brother wouldn't hurt him too much. Not only would it be hard to do that, but also Jedah knew Zelgadis. The sibling bond ran too strong. And Zelgadis was just too easy to antagonize.   
Inside the room, Zelgadis stood up shaking his head. He'd fallen into that trap, hadn't he? Jedah was possibly the only person other than Lina who could bait him so well that he didn't see it coming. Even Xellos was starting to become see-through.   
Speaking of the fruitcake, he could sense him around here. Now what did he want?   
A split-second later, a loud feminine scream echoed through the hallways. 

One thing that Zelgadis and Jedah shared was that they were equally quick on the uptake. They both came to the conclusion that Amelia had been the one to scream, and that the reason must be related to Xellos.   
So it came no surprise to either of them as they met at the door to the Great Hall and burst through it. What came as a surprise to one of them was that Jedah was armed with a quarterstaff. Zelgadis decided to ask later, and scanned the room for Amelia.   
She was standing in the middle of the dance floor, beet red, and Xellos was standing in front of her, grinning hugely.   
Before Zelgadis could take action, Jedah dashed across the room, taking up position beside Amelia. "Amelia! What's wrong?"   
Amelia looked at Jedah with wide eyes. "He kissed me! He just appeared out of nowhere and he… kissed me!"   
Lina alighted beside Zelgadis, the velvet skirt of her evening gown pooling around her feet as she had taken her heels off in anticipation of battle. When she looked to Zelgadis, her eyes were dark and narrowed. "Perverted Mazoku. I'll take him out right now." She turned back to prepare to aim a fireball at Xellos.   
Zelgadis put his hand out, staying Lina. When she looked at him in confusion, he simply pointed to his younger brother.   
A good deal of anger was rolling off of Jedah, but it was quite clear that the anger wasn't anything that Xellos could process. In fact, Xellos looked a little unnerved by the young man glaring at him.   
Lina leaned into Zelgadis. "What is Jedah doing?"   
Zelgadis smiled darkly. "Righteous anger, Lina. It's an emotion that Mazoku can't feed off of. And unless I miss my guess, Jedah's about to use that to his advantage."   
_Huh?_ Lina thought as she watched.   
As Zelgadis watched his sibling, he could have sworn that in the buildup of anger his brother had grown up by several years. Or maybe that was because Jedah wasn't smiling and boyish like he tended to be, and the impression of youth was merely an illusion.   
"Xellos, you should know better than to tarnish the virtue of a beautiful woman. What you've done is unforgivable, and you leave me no choice but to show you the errors of your ways, in the name of Love and Justice!" Jedah started, and Amelia looked to him with stars in her eyes. A Speech of Justice and Love! From Jedah! She thought she'd swoon.   
Xellos faltered, feeling slightly queasy from the aura building off of Jedah. The boy was going to rattle off a speech like Amelia? The two were perfect for each other. Perfectly disgusting, in the eyes of a Mazoku.   
Jedah glanced at Amelia. "Ready?"   
Amelia nodded, stars still glinting in her eyes.   
Jedah dropped his staff, clasped a hand with Amelia, and the two reached out to Xellos, grabbing him into an embrace before the startled Mazoku could blink. Lina choked. Zelgadis resisted the urge to fall over. Sylphiel stared. Gourry and Naga snored.   
Jedah and Amelia began professing how lovely it was that Xellos wanted to be with them, and Lina couldn't stand it. As the two continued to express exuberance and hug the Trickster Priest it was getting so sickeningly sweet that Lina either had to gather her skirt and leave the room or lose everything that she'd just eaten at the buffet.   
_Wait a minute… if I feel as nauseated as this from that…_ Lina thought from just outside the door. She started to laugh as she realized what this expression of emotions must be doing to Xellos. When she stuck her head in the door, she was rewarded with the sight of a very greenish-faced and wilting Mazoku trapped in the arms of the high-spirited Amelia and Jedah as the two continued to babble with love and cheer.   
Lina couldn't help it. She started to laugh harder, far harder than she'd laughed in a good long time. She slid down the doorframe into a pool of green velvet, tears rolling down her cheeks.   
And that was how Zelgadis found her outside the Great Hall. He sat down beside her, chuckling slightly as the Great Hall was quickly being emptied as all the party-goers tried to escape the happy-fuzzy feelings.   
"Are they… still…?" Lina managed between laughing. She was practically helpless with mirth, laughing so hard that her sides were beginning to hurt.   
Zelgadis peeked back in the room. "Looks like it. And I don't feel sorry for Xellos, either," he chuckled. Sure enough, Xellos was starting to look a little gaunt. With all that positive energy, there was nothing to feed from.   
As he watched, Jedah and Amelia dropped the act and the Mazoku crumpled to the floor. The two exuberant youths laughed in delight and Amelia gave Xellos a kick that rivaled some of Lina's.   
Xellos either didn't have the energy to block it, or didn't care to, for he went sailing out of the room and vanished into the evening.   
Gourry and Naga slept on.   
[][1]

   [1]: dream19.html



	19. 

Perchance to Dream - Chapter 19

**Perchance to Dream**   
**Chapter Ninteen**

The ball was long over, but Lina and Zelgadis were still dressed the part, walking along quietly in the garden, fingers entwined. They were talking, enjoying each other's company, generally forgetting who they were. For this night, she was not Lina Inverse the Bandit Killer, and he was not Zelgadis Graywords, relative of Rezo the Red Priest.   
They were simply a man and a woman in love, all thoughts of the powers and abilities at command set aside, all awareness of shortcomings and differences forgotten.   
She laughed softly, the untouched glass of wine still in her hand as they came to a stop beside the waterfall. Her eyes caught the path of a shooting star, and she looked at it, entranced for the moment by the simple magic of that light dancing across the night sky.   
He looked to her for a moment, smiled, and whispered something into her ear. Startled, she looked up to him, her eyes searching his. When she replied, he pulled her close to him and kissed her.   
The glass of wine slipped out of her fingers, falling to the grass behind her. 

Morning dawned bright and clear, heralded by the loud crashing of a bedroom door flying open and a younger sibling landing on the older, still sleeping one. "Zelgadis! Wake up! It's morning!"   
Zelgadis came to full awareness only a split second before Jedah's weight came to a full and sudden stop on his stomach. As it was, he was unprepared for the exuberant youth, and groaned in protest. "Jedah, you're not five anymore! For the love of Cepheid, get off!"   
Jedah grinned. "But Zel! When was the last time I got to wake you up?" He smiled his brightest and most cheerful innocent smile. Oh, he knew what would most likely happen, and it didn't bother him one bit. Annoying Zelgadis was a brotherly art.   
Aquamarine eyes narrowed in a frown, and Zelgadis muttered under the only-slightly crushing weight of his brother. "While I admit that it's been a while, it does not warrant you remaining on my chest! Get off!"   
Jedah grinned, perching on his brother. "Not until you say it!"   
"Say what?" Zelgadis asked, rolling his eyes. Truly, the longer Jedah sat there, the more his body changed to account for the weight. Part of his new-found abilities, he imagined. But he wasn't about to tell Jedah that. The boy was having too much fun with the old game, and who was he to spoil it?   
"You have to say the word! You have to say 'Uncle'!" 

Sylphiel was headed down to the informal dining room that Amelia used for breakfast with her friends when she heard a loud series of crashes, followed by laughter from the open door nearby.   
She was completely unprepared to find Zelgadis and Jedah on the floor of Zelgadis' room, engaged in a furious battle of tickling.   
Standing in the doorway, Sylphiel's eyes widened as she realized that she was watching Zelgadis acting like an older brother. It also occurred to her that if she stayed there and got caught watching, Zelgadis was likely to be extremely embarrassed. So she quietly closed the door and walked away with a hidden smile. Yes, it was good to see Mister Zelgadis so happy. 

Lina was feeling lazy. After all, she'd been up much later than everyone else last night. She'd sat on the balcony, thinking over the events prior to her return to her rooms.   
The question that he'd asked last night, and the answer that she'd given. What did it ultimately mean?   
In the end, she'd gone to bed without her question answered. But then, she knew that only time could provide the answer she sought.   
And now, sitting in bed, she was still no closer to finding her answer. Not that she had truly expected it to come in the night.   
She slipped out of bed and rang for the servants to provide her with water for her morning bath. There was nothing in the world like a bath to help ease the worries of the mind. 

Naga was eating almost everything in sight when Amelia walked into the informal breakfast area. With a soft sigh, Amelia sat beside her sister and reached for a muffin. "Good morning, Naga."   
"Morning, 'Melia," Naga managed around a mouthful of food. "How was the first night without a Mazoku for a pillow?"   
Amelia took a bite of muffin, contemplating it, and then swallowed and grinned. "It felt great. I had the entire bed to myself."   
Naga nodded. "So," she swallowed. "Are you still mad at Lina?" She picked up a glass of juice.   
Amelia shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I really shouldn't have blamed it all on Lina. It was really Xellos' fault. All of it was a skillful manipulation by him… and he had me playing right into it, eating all of that negative emotion."   
"You were tricked into it, Amelia. I can't blame you for that. Xellos had you eating out of the palm of his hand, and he used every dirty trick he had to contain you."   
Amelia looked up to see Lina standing in the doorway. "Oh, Miss Lina…"   
Lina waved it off as she walked into the room and sat down at the table. "Forget about it, Amelia. I'm just as at fault, too. If I hadn't left Saillune that night, who knows what might have happened. But we can't really know, so there isn't much of a point in dwelling on it. The best thing to do now is look on to the future."   
Amelia watched Lina grab several muffins. "But what…"   
Any thought that Amelia may have voiced was halted by the arrival of a very quiet Zelgadis walking into the room followed by Hurricane Jedah.   
With an extremely cheerful hello, Jedah bounced across the room and perched cheerfully in the chair beside Amelia, who had lost her train of thought the moment she'd caught sight of him.   
Zelgadis sat quietly beside Lina, and the sorceress laughed softly at the look on Zelgadis' face. "You know, Zel… after meeting Jedah, I suddenly understand why you're so quiet. I mean…" She looked over where Jedah had lured Amelia into an animated discussion. "And I don't think she's been this happy since the day her father foisted her magic training off on me."   
Zelgadis simply muttered a reply and picked up a muffin. He was still fairly tired, and Jedah had woken him earlier than he'd wanted to wake. Coffee. He needed coffee. But he didn't have to ask for it, as a servant placed a large cup of the steaming drink before him. He picked it up and began to sip from it as he watched his younger brother chat happily with Amelia._ Not a bad match,_ he supposed. _And Jedah's more than capable of defending himself and Amelia. The two of them make a formidable force against Mazoku. Eh… what am I thinking?_ He looked up from his thoughts to see Sylphiel leaning into Lina, whispering something into the redhead's ear. A wicked smile crept across Lina's lips, and as Sylphiel moved off to join Gourry at the table, Zelgadis felt Lina's eyes fall on him.   
Guilelessly, Zelgadis looked back.   
Lina leaned over and whispered a single line into his ear: "I hear you're ticklish."   
He blushed as bright as her hair.   
"Mmmhmm," Lina said as she turned back to her muffins. 

That afternoon, Lina found herself sitting in the drawing room, contemplating the crystal pendant that Zelgadis had given her. She could feel the power within it, the link it carried to Zelgadis. But how it had come to be… if it had been a part of him before… She shook her head, trying to figure it out, and having little luck.   
"What's wrong, Lina?"   
She looked up to see Naga standing there. "Oh. Hi, Naga. So…" She tucked the necklace away. "How come you never told me that you were the Crown Princess of Saillune? I mean, a little detail like that… is kind of important, don't you think?"   
Naga plopped herself down on a chair with all of the grace of a four-hundred pound elephant. So much for being more ladylike… Lina thought to herself and waited for an answer.   
Naga shook her head. "No, Lina. Gracia is the Crown Princess. And Gracia died the day that she used her magic to kill her mother's assassin. Gracia, so pure, sweet and innocent. Rather a lot like the Shadow created by that mirror, Lina. I couldn't be that way, not after that night."   
Lina held her breath. She didn't know the full story, the truth behind the death of Amelia and Naga's mother. "What… happened?"   
Naga hesitated at first, but haltingly began to recount the story of being afraid that something was under her bed, and tiptoeing to her mother's room. When she'd tapped on the door, it had opened slightly… something that had never happened before. So young Gracia had stuck her head into the room.   
The images coming to Lina's mind were incredible. To be that young and not only to witness that, but to cast that spell… Lina shook her head. "I had no idea. Holy Cepheid, Naga… what can I say to that?"   
Naga's answer was wry. "There's not a lot that can be said, Lina. We recover, we make the best that we can of our lives. In my case, I ran away from it all."   
Lina nodded. "But what happened? I mean if I recall correctly, most of the spells that you cast went horribly wrong. I mean… your golems were usually screwed up in one way or the other… and how did you manage to cast the Dragon Slave?"   
"I cast the Dragon Slave because I had to, Lina. Amelia… my little sister was in over her head and she couldn't cast it. I was pretty trashed by the battles I had to fight in order to get into Saillune while it was under siege, but I couldn't give up. Not when I heard her trying to say the words and nothing was happening."   
Lina nodded, agreeing.   
"Let me ask you something, Lina," Naga started.   
Lina looked to her and tilted her head. "Hm?"   
"That Zelgadis. He's why you left, isn't he? Why you ran away from Saillune three years ago."   
Lina turned red. "Well… I think I left because I didn't know what else to do."   
Naga nodded for a moment before she grinned at Lina. "Well, if you decide to leave again, I might have to see what my chances with him are."   
Lina reached out and punched Naga in the head. "Back off."   
To Lina's surprise, Naga started to laugh. "Now that's the Lina that I know! None of this pensiveness and brooding, now. Get on with your life, no matter which way it's going to take you, Lina."   
Lina looked at Naga, startled. "I am brooding, aren't I? I've been sitting here since breakfast, trying to see the answer to a question that I've only begun to ask myself. Here I am, worried about how my life will change… and I don't even know for a fact that it will."   
Naga nodded sagely. She was good at that. It was as simple as folding your arms, looking like you knew everything, and closing your eyes while nodding.   
Lina bounced up off of the chair and landed on her feet. "So the only thing holding me back is I myself. Thanks, Naga."   
Naga opened her eyes and watched Lina leave the room. 

Lina wandered the halls, looking for Zelgadis, and a servant pointed her out to the courtyard where he was sparring with Jedah. She stood on the balcony, watching the two practicing. She'd never seen Zelgadis use a staff before, but he seemed to be holding his own with Jedah quite well. Twice they came to a draw while she stood and watched, and only because Jedah spotted her did the third round end with Zelgadis winning in an easy move. She could tell that Zelgadis had asked why Jedah hadn't blocked, because Jedah pointed towards Lina and Zelgadis turned to see her. 

A short time later, Zelgadis met Lina out on the balcony over the courtyard. Much to Jedah's delight, he'd taken to wearing black, and Lina had to admit with his pale skin and silvery-brown hair, he was quite stunning in black. It was much better than that tan he'd worn for years.   
She smiled at herself and looked off to the courtyard. "So what now, Zel? It's strange. There's no quest, nothing to go and do. I'm not trying to save the world… you're not looking for a cure… It's strange. I feel like I've done everything there is to do, and everyone except you is leaving me and going away."   
He smiled faintly. "There are all of the outer continents that we haven't explored, Lina. There's a world out there. Aren't you curious? Just to go see?"   
She turned to look at him. "Maybe. But what we talked about… last night. The question that you asked…"   
He nodded. "Your answer is enough for now, Lina." He leaned down and kissed her softly, bringing his arms around her.   
She sighed, leaning into his embrace. She'd been really dumb, hadn't she? The thought that she had almost lost this… she shivered and he hugged her closer.   
Across her shoulder, he caught sight of Amelia and Jedah watching them. But before he could scowl at his brother, he caught the movement of Amelia's hand as the princess reached out and caught Jedah's. With a soft sigh, he shook his head. "Lina… Amelia and Jedah are watching."   
Lina turned to see the guilty pair innocently standing there, holding hands. With a smirk, she looked back to Zelgadis. "Well, there's only one thing to do."   
Zelgadis looked to Lina. "Hm?"   
Lina stood on tiptoe. "Give them something to see."   
And she kissed him. 


	20. 

Perchance to Dream - Chapter 20

**Perchance to Dream**   
**Chapter 20**

Amelia sighed dreamily, leaning into Jedah as she watched Lina turn and kiss a fairly startled Zelgadis. "It's so sweet… don't they just make the perfect couple?"   
Jedah grinned as he watched his brother caught between surprise and embarrassment as Lina kissed him. "Yeah, isn't it great?"   
Amelia lifted her head and looked to Jedah. "Jedah…? I don't… bother you… do I?" Worry flickered in her blue eyes as she searched his eyes.   
Jedah looked to her, turning on the full force of the Greywords charm (which was something Zelgadis never did, largely because it had such a profound effect on women.) "Of course you don't bother me, Amelia! How could someone who burns with the fire of Love and Justice such as you be a bother?"   
Little stars formed in Amelia's eyes, and she clasped her hands together and looked at him enraptured. "Oh, Jedah!"   
A slipper smacked Amelia across the back of her head. "Oi, oi. Take it somewhere else, you two. Zelgadis and I were here first."   
Amelia looked over to see Lina laughing softly as she stood just inside Zelgadis' personal space. She suddenly realized what Lina and Zelgadis had seen… and while it was okay for Amelia to see Lina and Zelgadis being sweet together, it was another thing entirely when it was yourself being seen being sweet with someone.   
Amelia blushed.   
Zelgadis looked quietly to Jedah, the two girls unable to read what was in his eyes. Jedah, however, had grown up being able to read Zelgadis like a book, and therefore saw the quiet approval and gentle warning: Don't hurt her.   
Jedah's smile in return was equally as vocal. 

Lina and Amelia stepped off to the side, watching the two brothers. Lina leaned into Amelia. "I've heard that close siblings can talk without saying a word, but this is just amazing. Do you think they've even noticed that we've moved?"   
Amelia shook her head slowly. "No… I don't think so…"   
Lina sighed. "Unbelievable." 

Zelgadis blinked away from his silent conversation with Jedah. The girls were gone. As it crossed his face, Jedah looked around sheepishly. The both of them had missed it completely. But where had they gone?   
"It's all your fault, Zelgadis," Jedah quipped as he turned to look for Amelia in the hallway behind him.   
"My fault? Why is everything always my fault, Jedah? You're old enough to take responsibility for not seeing Amelia walk off," Zelgadis grumbled as he looked for Lina.   
"Yeah, well, I didn't see you keeping an eye on Lina, either. I'm going downstairs to look," Jedah said with a grin as he walked off towards the stairs.   
Zelgadis sighed. He'd never win with Jedah. The boy was just too damned cute. 

Lina and Amelia sat in the drawing room laughing at the two they had left behind. Sylphiel overheard, and walked in with a curious expression. "What happened?"   
Lina laughed as she explained it to Sylphiel, who started to smile. "Mister Zelgadis loves his brother very much, Miss Lina. Those two are possibly the closest siblings I have ever seen. They're closer than I was with my brother."   
Lina blinked. "You have a brother, Sylphiel? I didn't know that. He wasn't in Sairag…"   
Sylphiel shook her head. "No… he's older than I am by several years, and moved away early. We occasionally write… but he is married and happy, so I don't bother him."   
Amelia's head tilted. "You don't get along, do you, Sylphiel?" The question was asked much softer than it sounded.   
Sylphiel sighed, looking off into the distance. "I'm afraid that I was more of a nuisance to him than anything else. An apprentice swordsman doesn't want his younger sister clinging to him all the time."   
"Then your brother wasn't appreciative of his sister, Sylphiel."   
Sylphiel turned as Lina and Amelia looked up to see Zelgadis standing in the doorway. He walked into the room and looked at the Cleric. "Jedah may have driven me nuts as we were growing up, and on occasion, still tries his best to do so. However, he is my little brother, and I still love him very much."   
The moment was completely shattered when Jedah flung himself into the room and caught Zelgadis around the neck in a gleeful hug. Zelgadis staggered under the sudden weight for a moment, and then looked to Sylphiel, completely deadpan. "As I said, still tries his best."   
All three girls started to laugh, and Jedah peered around Zelgadis. "What?"   
Sylphiel shook her head, laughing. "Jedah, you're a very lucky boy, do you know that?"   
Jedah let go of Zelgadis, landing on his own feet, and grinned. "Yeah, Zelgadis is just the coolest brother anyone could have."   
This time, Zelgadis blushed. "Cut it out, Jedah."   
Lina snickered quietly, and Zelgadis shot her a look. "And not you too."   
In a near-perfect imitation of Amelia, Lina clasped her hands and forced stars to appear in her eyes. "Oh, Zelgadis… you're just too much for us!" She false-swooned against Amelia and everyone but Zelgadis burst into more laughter.   
Zelgadis only sighed. Sometimes, no make that most of the time, he got no respect. 

Over dinner, the conversations turned to what was to happen now, and Lina mentioned traveling back out into the Outer Continents and seeing the rest of the world. Surely there was something to see and do.   
Naga looked over to the sorceress. "Well, don't expect me to stay here and be bored. If there's treasure to be found, you bet I'm tagging along."   
Lina blinked. She hadn't thought about that…   
"Me too, Lina! Someone has to start trade relations with Saillune!" Amelia piped up.   
"If Amelia's going, I'm going to go too!"   
"No, Jedah. You're going back home," Zelgadis countered.   
Lina sighed. This wasn't what she'd expected. It was snowballing faster and faster as everyone started to talk about traveling again. Putting up her hand, she got everyone's attention. "Now look, that wasn't an invitation to join me."   
Naga shrugged. "Don't need an invitation, Lina. Besides, it's been a long time since the two of us went anywhere."   
Lina glared at Naga. "And no inns have burned down around me lately, either!"   
"But Zelgadis! If Amelia's going, I'm going too!" Jedah complained at his brother.   
Zelgadis folded his arms. "Who said Amelia was going?"   
Amelia frowned at Zelgadis. "I said I'm going, and that's final, Mister Zelgadis."   
Sylphiel looked to Gourry. "What do you think, Gourry dear? It might be interesting to see the Outer Continents. I haven't been on an adventure since we ran up against Hellmaster Phibrizo."   
Gourry thought about it. "Sounds good to me."   
Lina collapsed onto the table, head buried in her hands. _No… no… no… I can't do this. I did not intend for everyone to just jump on in with me! This is turning into a nightmare!!_   
Oblivious to the redheaded sorceress' reaction, the occupants of the dinner table started bickering about who was going, who wasn't going, and where those that were going were going to start.   
"Hey, Lina… I'm sure my Daddy will give me a boat if I tell him that I'm going to try to start peaceful trade relations. That will make getting over there much easier… as long as we don't run into any dragons…" Amelia said eagerly.   
Lina lifted her head and looked at Amelia. "Now, look! I never asked you to come along!"   
Amelia pouted. "But Lina… I want to go! And if I'm going, you may as well book passage on my boat!" A sly look crept into the princess' eyes. "And you can either go with me and let me join you, or you can pay for passage and I'll drop you off at the first town."   
That, of course, got the desired reaction. "Amelia! Why do you think I want to pay you for passage if you're going to be going anyway?"   
"So we'll go as a group, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.   
Zelgadis sighed, seeing it coming. Really, Amelia was beginning to get good at manipulation. Almost as good as Lina, in fact.   
Lina scowled. "Of course we'll go as a group, Amelia. Honestly, if you think I'm going to pay you one single silver…" It dawned on her what she'd just agreed to. "AMELIA!!!"   
Amelia beamed happily. "Then we'll all go!"   
Lina collapsed on the table again.   


The city of Saillune was unprepared for seven adventurers to storm the gates in the morning with intent of purchasing supplies. Fortunately, with all the various shops, there was enough to go around and no fighting ensued within the group.   
Lina was really regretting the fact that she'd opened her mouth at dinner. "Look, can't we talk about this, Amelia? I mean… I don't think that seven people can travel well…"   
Amelia looked at Lina over the leather pouch she was considering. "Um… but Lina… we've traveled with seven people before…"   
Lina sighed and folded her arms. "One of them was Alumace, and the other was Xellos. They didn't really count!"   
Amelia rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Xellos counts in more than you can imagine."   
Lina smirked. "You sound like Filia. But then, I suppose that you have good reason to, but I'm not happy about this, Amelia. I mean, what happens if something goes wrong and we run into something big?"   
Amelia ran a mental tally. "Let's see. You're a powerful sorceress, and Naga can cast spells again. Zelgadis is… well… powerful. Jedah has his own talents… and I'm pretty good with Shamanic spells. Miss Sylphiel is a full Cleric now, and Gourry's a really good swordsman." She looked to Lina with bright eyes. "What can we possibly run into that stands a chance against us?"   
Lina scowled. "Another Mazoku Lord."   
"Then let's see…" Amelia thought as she paid for the leather pouch. "Garv is gone, and so is Hellmaster. That leaves Beastmaster, but she seems content to let Xellos irritate us. And no-one has ever heard of Deep Sea Dolphin or Dynast Grusherra beyond that which is taught in the books."   
Lina nodded. "Which is exactly what I'm worried about! What if we run into one of them?"   
Amelia shrugged. "We'll figure that out if it happens, right Lina?"   
Lina followed the princess out of the leather shop, sputtering with irritation. "It's that sort of blind eagerness that gets us into trouble!"   
Amelia grinned, posing. "But we always come out on top. The Champions of Love and Justice always triumph over Evil!"   
Lina fell over as the people in the street burst into cheers and applause for the princess who was perched triumphantly on the signpost for a local store. _The whole city is full of Justice nuts._

Lina took her leave of shopping early, retreating to her rooms in the Palace and hiding in the bed with the pillow over her head. _Oh… what am I going to do about this… This is insane! Why me??_   
There was a knock at her door, and she rolled over and out from under the pillow and grumped. "What is it?"   
"It's me,"   
Lina sighed and sat up. "Come on in, Zelgadis."   
The door opened slowly, and the black-cloaked figure of Zelgadis stepped into the room. "You know, we could leave now… It could take some time before they caught up."   
She grinned at him. "You think? But how would we get passage on boat out to the Outer Continents?"   
Zelgadis smiled faintly. "Who says we need a boat?"   
Lina tilted her head. "Because I can't swim that far?"   
Zelgadis chuckled faintly. "Xellos doesn't use a boat, Lina. I don't necessarily need one, either. And that would be at least a week's head start on them."   
Lina's eyes widened. "You… can do that…?"   
Zelgadis walked over and took Lina's hand. "You do remember what you saw before… what the Mazoku aspect of myself was capable of…"   
She considered. "Well… yes…"   
"Well then?"   
Lina smiled at him. 

Amelia was glad she'd followed Zelgadis back to the Palace.   
She stood in the doorway, watching Lina and Zelgadis fade from sight and sighed happily. Yes, let them have a week on their own. And then when she caught up with them, she'd give them just enough Hell about it to make the point. But she wouldn't ruin their getaway.   
"Are they gone?" Jedah asked, spooking her from her thoughts.   
She turned, looking at him. "How did you know, Jedah?"   
Jedah grinned. "I can find him if I want to, no matter where he goes. So we give them some time alone, and maybe by the time we catch up, they'll have figured out how they really feel for each other."   
Amelia nodded, looking down. "They're so perfect for each other… it makes me wish…" Her voice trailed off as Jedah put his arms around her. She blinked once, then twice, and smiled into his shoulder as she rested her head on him. And maybe I won't be alone by then either… 

And none of them knew that their adventures together were only beginning.   


FIN 


End file.
